Fall of the Republic!
by Grubkiller19
Summary: The Clone Wars rage on! In this great conflict, loyalties are tested, relationships are forged in the fires of war, heroes and villains are on both sides. Some seek a purpose. Others are seduced by darkness. But little does anyone know, the war is just a front for something far more sinister, planting the seeds that will bring about the FALL OF THE REPUBLIC! On Hiatus for now.
1. Chapter 1-ominous warnings

_Have no fear, Grubkiller's here._

 _Hey folks. I'm putting together a new story._

 _It'll detail the 'fall of the Republic' (hence the title) in my fanfic universe._

 _It'll basically be a monster story that combines polished versions of three of my stories (Escaping the Past, The End is Near, Return of the Sith) with a little extra content in between those stories to connect them better._

 _So I hope that you enjoy my new-(ish) story._

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. It was created by George Lucas and belongs to Lucasfilm. Which has been sold to Disney (sigh), unfortunately._

 _P.S: This story is only rated M for sensual themes later on. Otherwise, it's pretty much rated T._

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Opening Word Crawl (Star Wars theme plays in the background).**

 ** _A Galaxy at war!_**

 ** _For centuries, the Jedi-led Republic, based in the core and colonies, and the Sith Empire, based in the outer rim, have been at war for centuries. After centuries of perpetual wars, cold wars, and proxy wars, the Republic finally gets the upper hand, driving the Sith into their home territory in the Tion Cluster. After 5 years of being besieged, the Sith go into exile in the Unknown regions, thought to be destroyed by the Jedi and the Republic, which begins a new era of peace and prosperity following the Ruusan Reformation._**

 ** _Darth Bane has a falling out with the Sith Empire. Refusing to go into exile with the rest of the Sith, believing their constant infighting to be a weakness that caused the decline of the Sith in the first place. He goes into hiding with his apprentice, Darth Zannah, and he creates a new Sith order based off of his rule of two doctrine, which states that there can only be two Sith at any given time (the Master and Apprentice)._**

 ** _For years, the New Sith order works from the shadows, creating chaos across the galaxy, which undermines the Republic's authority. A political/economic/cultural rift begins to open up between the Core and Outer Rim regions of the galaxy. Darth Sidious and his apprentice, Darth Tyrannous, aka Count Dooku, exploit this rift for all it is worth. Darth Sidious becomes Chancellor of the Republic, which controls the core, while Count Dooku leads a new Separatist movement based in the outer rim. Both men lead their respective movements on the path to war with each other. But no one suspects their true intentions_.**

 ** _What happens next will plant the seeds that will bring about the fall of the Republic._**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

* * *

 **"-** Fallen Jedi Pong Krell before being executed by Clone Troopers during the Battle of Umbara.

* * *

 _Republic held umbaran airbase, near the capital city, Umbara_.

Umbara.

A jungle world in the Expansion Region that experienced no sunlight on its surface, earning the name "Shadow World."

For weeks now, the Republic has been trying to wrestle control of the planet away from the Separatist Alliance. Republic naval forces led by Master Luminara Unduili, Barriss Offee, and Ahsoka Tano, were dealing with the Separatist blockade. When the blockade was broken, Clone forces under the command of masters Kenobi and Tiin went straight for the capital city. As this happened, masters Skywalker and Krell covered their flanks.

It was a brutal fight for Captain Rex and his men.

The Umbarans were one with their environment, which they used to conceal their positions and viciously lash out when their enemies were close enough. It made it difficult for the Republic to advance. But with Anakin Skywalker leading them, they made progress nonetheless.

But then something strange happened. Anakin was recalled back to Coruscant unexpectantly, leaving the 501st Legion to be put under the temporary command of another Jedi, who had a serious reputation.

Jedi Master Pong Krell.

An accomplished General with many battlefield victories under his belt. But there was a catch: those battlefields were painted red with the blood of his men. He has more battlefield casualties than anyone else in the Jedi order.

For weeks, he pushed the troopers that he commanded (and despised) to their limit. While his men fought, and died in many cases, he led from behind. After the Republic captured an Umbaran airbase, General Krell ordered Rex and his men on towards the heavily fortified capital, despite the hellfire of deadly missiles being rained down upon the surface by the Separatist fleet. It was going to be a death trap. But, realizing there was a better plan, several clone troopers disobeyed their orders to carry out a covert operation to destroy the very ship arming the Separatists with those powerful missiles.

When they returned from their successful mission, the three surviving troopers were put in the prison hold and threatened with court-martial. But Rex ordered their stay of execution, causing more friction between him and krell.

But with their adversaries wearing clone armor and preparing to launch an offensive against the Republic airbase, Rex and his men were sent out to stop the enemy.

But what happened next was nothing short of a tragedy. A tragedy that forced Rex and his men to make the hardest decision that they would ever make.

* * *

 _(flashback)_

 _The troopers moved out, but soon ran into a brutal firefight and began targeting what they believed to be enemy troopers disguised as troopers from the 212th Attack Battalion. Blue blaster bolts flew back and forth, spearing troopers on both sides. Mortar bombs were launched over the treetops, landing in the middle of clusters of troopers from both sides._

 _Dozens of combatants on both sides were killed, and dozens more were wounded._

 _"Captain, where are you?" Clone Trooper Kix shouted into his comm, as Rex charged towards the enemy lines, firing his dual blasters as he went. "We're sustaining heavy casualties."_

 _Rex continued firing his blasters at an unseen target, just as another explosion went off in front of him, killing a cluster of his men. But just before he went to join the rest of his men, the body of someone wearing 212th armor caught his eye. He rushed over to investigate._

 _On closer inspection, it appeared that the corpse's helmet wasn't on all the way, revealing his throat and chin. But the exposed skin was tanned. Umbaran typically had very pale skin from this planet's lack of sunlight. As Rex went to take a closer look, a tight knot formed in his stomach. He pulled the corpse of one of his men off of the body in question. That's when he reached out to pull the trooper's helmet off._

 _He slowly pulled the helmet off. But to his surprise, instead of an Umbaran in disguise, it was a clone trooper. The face of Jango Fett looked up at the sky with lifeless eyes._

 _"What?" Rex exclaimed as he stumbled back in shocked horror._

 _They weren't Umbarans. They were clones. His men were shooting their own brothers._

 _Rex rushed back to the battlefield and began to run out in the open._

 _"Everyone, stop firing!" Rex ordered as he waved his hands over his head and charged out in the line of fire. "We're shooting at our own men!"_

 _But his men didn't listen. They were immersed in the battle and they continued to fire at the armored figures firing back at them._

 _"They're not Umbarans. They're Clones!" The men closest to him heard him and looked at him as they stopped shooting. "Take off your helmets!" Rex shouted to his men as he ran past them. "Show them you're not the enemy!"_

 _Rex continued to rush out in the open as blue plasma continued to fly back and forth around him._

* * *

 _One Clone sniper from the 212th was about to take aim at Rex when his spotter saw him take his helmet off._

 _"They're clones!" He could hear Rex shout from afar._

 _The 212th trooper put his hand on the rifle of the trooper next to him._

 _"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa whoa whoa!" The trooper exclaimed repeatedly._

* * *

 _"Everyone! Stop firing! Cease Fire! They're not Umbarans! They're Clones!" Rex continued shouting as he ran across the field. One by one, troopers stopped firing, trying to figure out what the hell was going on._

 _One 212th trooper was standing out in the open, trying to find a target. That's when he saw Rex charging at him._

 _He lowered his rifle._

 _"What the-," he tried to say before Rex tackled him to the ground. They rolled on the ground until Rex was on top. He ripped the helmet off of the terrified trooper and yanked him to his feet. Rex turned him around so that everyone could see that they were clones._

 _"LOOK! WE'RE CLONES! WE'RE ALL CLONES!" Rex shouted as he held the trooper in front of him._

 _"What?" Dogma asked in surprise as he ripped his helmet off._

 _The fire began to die down almost immediately after, and troopers from both sides took their helmets off to go out and meet their brothers out in the open. Everyone was shaken. It was so quiet. No one said anything. Not a word._

 _Rex let go of the trooper he was holding before he dropped to his knees. the trooper crawled away to collect himself. Rex held his head. He could not comprehend what had just happened._

 _'What have we done?'. He thought to himself._

 _(flashback ends)._

* * *

Later, after finding out that Krell had ordered both units to attack the area they've been sent to, Rex made the most dangerous decision of his entire life: To arrest of a General of the Grand Army.

To Arrest a Jedi Knight

Rex and his men, along with men from the 212th, marched on the seemingly deserted airbase.

Off in the distance, storm clouds were forming. Dark clouds moved close together, lightning flashing through them, making them glow as thunder boomed in the distance. It was as if nature itself wanted to be a symbol today. An ominous symbol for what was about to happen.

In the detention cells beneath the base, Fives, Jesse, and Hardcase were all still in their prison cell. The troopers who were nearly executed for taking personal initiative, sat around and waited for something to happen. That's when providence seemed to show fortune in that moment. The lift slowly descended to their level. The occupants were Rex, Tup, and Kix. The three troopers stepped off of the lift and walked over to the cell. That's when Rex deactivated the shield. Fives, Jesse, and Hardcase stood up. That's when Rex and the others presented them with blaster rifles.

The three prisoners looked at each other and nodded. They reached for the rifles and geared up.

As far as they were concerned, it was payback time.

* * *

Up in the command tower, General Pong Krell looked out over the stormy horizon with his hands clasped behind his back. That's when the lift door opened up to reveal Rex and over a dozen clone troopers from the 501st and 212th.

They entered the room and fanned out along the walls, completely surrounding the Besalisk Jedi.

When Krell was surrounded, Rex stepped into the room, the door closing behind him.

"General Krell, you're being relieved duty," Rex stated assertively.

The smiling Jedi turned around. When he did, a flash of lightning very ominously crackled in the distance.

"It's treason then," Krell said.

Rex unholstered his sidearms and pointed them at Krell. "Surrender General," he ordered.

But Krell stepped forward, undaunted. He was a giant, standing a head taller than anyone around him, with broad shoulders and biceps bigger than the head of an average human.

"You're committing mutiny Captain," Krell said as he stopped when he was in the middle of the room.

"Explain your actions," Rex ordered.

Krell looked around at the troopers pointing their rifle at him.

"My actions?" he asked.

"For ordering your troops against one another!" Rex shouted.

"Oh..." Krell said as he looked at the ceiling and held his chin with one of his four hands. "...that. I'm surprised you were able to figure it out, for a Clone," Krell mocked.

Fives looked over to Jesse. He gave a hand signal. Jesse nodded and slowly moved towards Krell with Fives and several other troopers.

"Surrender General, you're outnumbered," Rex said just as Krell spread his arms out and channeled the power of the force to make every trooper around him fly in every direction, causing them to slam into the walls around the room.

The troopers all grunted and groaned as they hit the walls.

"You dare to attack a Jedi?" Krell asked as he ignited both of his dual bladed lightsabers.

The clones got up and began to fire on the four armed Jedi. Their plasma bolts flew towards the General from every direction. But krell spun around several times and expertly swung his blades around like they were propellors. He turned around and swung his blades at two clones that got too close to him, slicing them almost in half. The general then thrust his blade forward and impaled to other clones that were in front of him. The clones continued to lay down fire. One trooper charged, unwisely, at the General in an attempt to subdue him. He failed. Krell crisscrossed his blades and sliced them across the trooper's torso. He then kicked the staggering trooper across the room. The trooper's corpse flew towards Rex. Rex dodged the trooper, who flew into the door with a loud clang.

Moments later, the remaining Clones stopped. So did Krell. He stopped swinging his blades so that he could talk to Rex. Burning hatred spewed from his eyes as he stared into Rex's soul.

"I will not be undermined by creatures bred in some laboratory!" Krell declared.

He turned around and charged at the window. He smashed through it and somersaulted in the air repeatedly. When he landed on the base grounds, the impact caused a crater to form around him and glass shards began to hit the ground around him. He then looked up to see that he was surrounded by dozens of clones.

"Get him!" One trooper ordered.

That's when every trooper on the base opened fire on Krell, pouring everything they had at him. Krell lashed out and slashed several troopers so hard that they were thrown away several feet. The troopers that were surrounding him tried to move in closer. But when they got too close, Krell would sometimes slash several of them at once. He then used his two free hands to pick up some of the corpses and throw them at the other troopers around them, pushing them to the ground.

Rex and his men watched from above. They quickly moved towards the elevator to try and hook up with the rest of the troopers, who were definitely having trouble subduing Krell.

General Krell charged forward and dove over an Umbaran star-fighter. He continued to charge at the wall of Clone Troopers in front of him, who continued to fire on the traitorous Jedi. Krell continued to use his two dual sabers to deflect multiple rounds back at the troopers. Then, when he was close enough, he used his two free hands to force push the remaining troopers to the ground. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Krell ran off of the base grounds and disappeared into the dark, and dense, Umbaran jungle.

Rex and his squad rallied up with every available clone and went to go chase after him.

But as they went to give chase, they were blocked by Dogma, who held his rifle at the clones in front of him.

"Hold it right there!" He ordered.

Rex and his men pointed their weapons at Dogma. The trooper in front of them was a by-the-book trooper who followed his superiors without question. Even if that superior was Krell. The misguided trooper was what stood between them and going after the traitor.

"Lower your weapon, Dogma," Rex said. Not in a demanding way, but rather in a calm way.

"I-," Dogma shook his head. "-I can't do that sir".

Rex tried to be calm, but he wasn't having any of it now".

"That's an order!" He shouted.

"It's my duty," Dogma said, pointing his rifle from trooper to trooper. "You're all traitors."

Rex holstered one of his sidearms and used his free hand to take his helmet off. He wanted to show his face to Dogma, hoping to try and have a man to man conversation and reason with him. But he still had a pistol pointed at Dogma just in case.

"I used to believe that being a good soldier meant doing everything they told ya'. That's how they engineered us. But we're not droids," Rex said as Tup walked up to them with his helmet off. "We're not programmed. You have to learn to make your own decisions."

Dogma then pointed his rifle one handed at Tup.

"Dogma," Tup said. "Don't do it". He warned.

The misguided trooper then looked down. He lowered his weapon in shame. Two troopers rushed up to him from behind and tackled him to the ground.

"Take him to the brig," Rex ordered before he turned to the troopers behind him. "Troopers, don't let General Krell escape".

Every trooper that Rex assembled rushed in the direction that Krell was last seen moving towards.

The hunt was on.

* * *

The Clones spent hours trekking through the foggy jungle for their four armed quarry.

The glowing plants gave the fog an unsettling red glow. Umbaran native life forms began to chirp and cackle in the distance.

Rex activated his wrist comm and spoke into it. "Anyone got anything?"

 _"Uh, negative Captain,_ " a trooper answered back. _"We lost him-...Wait!_ " Literally seconds later, the hum of a swinging lightsaber, blaster fire, and screaming clones could be heard from the other end of the call. Rex and the troopers were alarmed as they reacted to the sounds of distress coming from Rex's wrist comm. "He's too-powerful. HURRY-GGAAHHHHH!"

Rex shut off his comm and began to rush deeper into the jungle with the rest of his troops in tow. They stopped when the blaster discharges became louder. Fives took cover by a tree trunk and zoomed in with his visor. He could see the clones being chopped apart by Krell. When he cut down the last clone, he looked off in the distance, facing the spot that Rex and the others held. But before the clones could do anything about it, Krell jumped up into the tree tops and disappeared out of view.

Fives looked at Rex. "He's coming". The troopers fanned out and took up defensive positions.

They waited.

But nothing happened. It was all quiet. Too quiet. Way too quiet.

Then, suddenly, the strangest thing happened.

" _You should have listened to the arc-trooper from the beginning Captain_ ," Krell said.

His voice was echoing across the jungle, as if he was using the trees to reverberate his voice in every direction. The clones became jumpy and began to look in every direction as Krell began to laugh in a maniacally unsettling way. They looked up and around, trying to locate the source of that voice.

" _HA HA HA HA! He was right! He was right,_ " his voice echoed. _"MRA HA HA HA HA HA HA. I was using you._ "

Some of the clones gathered up and stood back to back, covering each other.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Krell laughed as he dove out of the trees and pointed his blade down. He landed in the middle of a cluster of clones and killed all five of them as he landed.

"You've all been my pawns,' Krell mocked as he activated all of his blades.

"Get him!" Rex ordered.

"AHAHAHAHAH!" Krell laughed as the clones began to attack him.

The clones surrounded him and tried to subdue him. But he was too powerful. He blocked and deflected every shot that came his way. He then began to jump from clone to clone, cutting them down with his blades. He stabbed one of his blades through a tree and impaled a clone that was taking cover behind it. He continued to spin his blades like helicopter props and cut down any trooper that got too close. Krell then thrust both of his blades behind him, impaling two troopers that were trying to attack him from behind.

When Krell decided that he wanted to get his hands dirty, he deactivated and holstered his blades. He cracked his knuckles and charged at the clones. The Besalisk Jedi rushed, dodged, and somersaulted his way through the clone platoon's line of fire until he got up close and personal. He punched one clone so hard in the face that his neck snapped back. Krell then bashed another trooper into a tree, knocking I'm unconscious. He then got behind one clone and lifted his back. That's when he swiftly broke the terrified and struggling clone's back over his knee, breaking his spinal cord.

That's when Tup charged at him. Krell simply grabbed the trooper by the shoulder and threw him about 15 yards away from the carnage.

Tup hit the ground and slid across it. He groaned as he slowly got up. That's when he saw a Vixus wake up right next to him. It groaned as it opened it's glowing mouth and began to wiggle it's tentacles around. This creature was native to Umbara. It rested on the jungle floor and kept completely still, his tentacles acting as vines to anyone oblivious enough to walk by and become dinner to the stationary beast. The Republic encountered several of these creatures since the operation began.

Realizing the dangerous spot he was in, the rookie Clone gently and quietly stepped back out of the creatures reach. A few moments later, it went back into it's slumber.

Tup was about to go back and rejoin the fight when he had an idea. He activated his com-link and spoke into it.

"Captain Rex, this is Tup. If you can, force the General towards me," Tup requested.

* * *

" _What?_ " The confused captain asked into his comm as he continued to fire at Krell, who was still having his way with the clones. " _Why?_ "

"Trust me," Tup said.

* * *

Rex spoke into his comm to speak to everyone around him.

"Troopers, listen up! Circle around. Lure him towards Tup," Rex ordered.

On Rex's order, the clones began to pull away from Krell, who was impaling a trooper with his saber. He watched as they ran off into the jungle. Deciding not to let them get away, he withdrew his blade from his latest kill and gave chase.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the Vixus, Tup was carefully stepping over the sleeping creature's tentacles.

He then turned around to see his brothers being chased by Krell, just as he planned.

"AHAHAHAHA!" Krell laughed as his prey ran off into the jungle.

Tup fired a few rounds at Krell to get his attention. The Dark Jedi deflected all three of them.

"Hey, ugly! Come and get me!" Tup taunted.

Accepting the challenge, Krell broke off his pursuit and charged at Tup, who looked away just incase his plan failed. He didn't want to see it coming.

When Krell was close enough, he prepared to dive at Tup and turn into a diced entree. But he jumped off of a 'vine' to jump at Tup, which a fatal mistake. A mistake that Tup had planned on.

When it seemed like Krell was going to add another clone to his kill list, the Vixus' tentacles began to flap around until one of them grabbed onto Krell by the torso. Krell panicked and shouted in alarm as he was swung around by the creature's tentacles.

Tup just stood back and watched as he waited for his brothers to arrive.

When the Vixus tried to bring Krell close to his mouth, Krell swiped his blade at the creature's tongue, chopping it off. The creature groaned in pain and dropped Krell to the ground, who dropped his green dual saber. But before krell could recover, the Vixus used another tentacle to grab him by the ankle. He was now being held upside down. Just when things seemed like they couldn't get much worse for Krell, Rex and the others came back to assist Tup. They blasted away at the General, who was only armed with his blue dual saber.

The General tried desperately to defend himself and not be eaten at the same time. He force pushed a few clones away from him, and as he was swung close enough to one clone, he swiped at him, barely grazing his ankle, and forcefully tripping him. That's when he reached up and severed the tentacle that was holding him. He dropped to the ground as the creature screamed in pain.

As Krell sat up and rubbed his bruised head, the creature next to him was blasted repeatedly out of no where, before it finally died. He turned to face the origin of the shot to see Tup standing right in front of him, pointing a rifle in his face. Krell recoiled in surprise just before Tup fired on him. He was hit in the face with a stun blast, knocking him out cold.

Rex and the others walked over to inspect the unconscious traitor.

"I stunned him sir," Tup said.

Rex used his foot to push Krell onto his back, to make sure that Tup was right. He then looked at Tup. "Nice work Tup," Rex said as a 501st trooper moved to restrain Krell with a set of binders.

* * *

Later, beneath the grounds of the Republic controlled airbase, the underground prison cells were occupied by Umbaran soldiers, who all had a look of hatred towards the clones, who were invading their home. Another cell was occupied by a clone trooper named Dogma, who stood in the way of justice. But another cell was occupied by someone else. A full-blown traitor, who had all of his arms restrained by binders. It was Jedi General Pong Krell.

The prison's lift descended to the lower levels, carrying Captain Rex and a few of his men.

"Why General?" Rex asked as he and his men walked in front of the shield. "Why kill your own men?"

Krell was sitting pretzel styled on the floor. When Rex asked his question, he smiled and chuckled as he stood up.

"Because I can. Because you fell for it. Because you're inferior," Krell mocked.

"But you're a Jedi," Rex said. "How could you?"

"A Jedi? HAHAHAHA! I am no longer naive enough to be a Jedi. A new power is rising. I've foreseen it. The Jedi are going to lose this war, and the Republic will be ripped apart from the inside." As Krell monologued, the clones reacted with fear and anger written on their faces. A nervous Jesse looked at Fives, who frowned, wanting to punch Krell right in his flappy chin. "In its place is going to rise a New Order, and I will rule as part of it."

"You're a Separatist," Rex accused.

Krell nodded.

"I serve no one's side. Only my own, and soon ... my new master," Krell revealed.

"You're an agent of Dooku," Rex deduced.

"Not yet. But when I get out of here I will be," Krell said. "After I've succeeded in driving the Republic from Umbara, the Count will reward my actions, and make me his new apprentice".

"How could you do this?" Asked a new voice. Everyone looked to see that it was Dogma, who was in the cell right next to Krell. "You had my trust. My loyalty. I followed all of your orders. And you made me kill my brothers!" Dogma shouted accusingly.

"HA HA HA HA!" Krell laughed as he stood taller. He leaned in to look at Dogma through the ray shield that separated their cells. "That's because you were the biggest fool of them all Dogma. I counted on blind loyalty like yours to make my plan succeed".

Dogma looked off to the side before he lowered his head in embarrassment and shame. Krell chuckled again as he turned to face Rex again.

"That will never happen," Rex said assertively. "You're a traitor General. And you will be dealt with as one".

Krell smiled and shook his head. "You never learn Captain. The Umbarans are going to retake this base, and when they do, I will be free," Krell said as he sat back down, but with his back straight, as if to show his confidence in himself. Rex frowned and ripped himself away from the cell. He and his men stepped back onto the lift, which took them to the surface, leaving the overconfident General in his cell.

* * *

Outside the base, the battle of Umbara was back in full swing. Green explosions filled the night sky outside of the base, showing that the Umbarans were advancing. As this happened, Rex, Fives, Jesse, and Tup walked out of the prison building and onto the base's runway.

A clone sergeant named Appo was walking towards them with Hardcase and Kix.

"Captain. We've repaired the transmitter. It looks like it was sabotaged. We received a message from General Kenobi. He and General Tiin's forces have captured the capital. but the remaining Umbarans are heading here," Appo reported.

"Gather everyone on the perimeter. We need to prepare for a full-scale attack," Rex ordered.

Appo snapped off a crisp salute. "Yes sir," he said before he, Kix, and Hardcase rushed off to gather every trooper in the base.

As Clone troopers across the base scrambled to their positions, Rex faced the troopers that were gathered with him. "Krell sabotaged the transmitter. He's been against us from the beginning."

In response to this unsettling revelation, Fives stepped forward. "If the Umbarans get to him, he'll turn over all our intel. The defense codes, everything. He'll strike a crippling blow to the Republic".

Jesse jumped forward. "Something has to be done. We can't risk the possibility that he might escape".

"As long as Krell's alive, he is a threat to everyone of us," Tup said, putting in his two credits worth.

Rex was shocked at what was just implied by his men. He looked down in deep thought before he finally reached a conclusion.

"I ... agree".

* * *

Dogma was still in his cell, using his helmet as a seat. He could hear explosions rumbling through the ground, and vibrate through the walls around him. They were getting louder and louder.

He couldn't help but sit in self-pity.

 _'I killed my brothers. I kept them from arresting the monster responsible for it all. And now, I might die before I can ever make things right'_.

As Dogma sat in his self-pity, he saw that the lift was coming back down. It was carrying Rex, Fives, and Jesse. When the lift came to a halt, the shield to Dogma's cell was deactivated. Fives walked up to it, prompting Dogma to stand up. Fives led him out of the cell, but kept his binders on.

Meanwhile Rex stepped over to Krell's cell and unholstered one of his sidearms.

"Turn around and step toward the wall." Rex ordered.

Krell rolled his eyes and did as he was told, more annoyed than afraid.

"On your knees." Rex ordered.

Krell just stood there as Jesse deactivated the shield to his cell. He looked over his shoulder at Rex.

"Ha ha hm! You're in a position of power now. How does it feel?"

"I said. On. Your. Knees." Rex ordered as he pointed his blaster at Krell's back.

"It feels good, doesn't it?" Krell asked as he sunk to his knees. "But I can sense your fear."

Rex slipped his finger inside the trigger guard and put his finger on the trigger itself. But he didn't pull it. He just held it. He was hesitating big time. His hand began to shake. The gun shook as well.

"You're shaking, aren't you?" Krell asked, taking note of the fear building up inside of Rex. "What are you waiting for? The Umbarans are getting closer." He said as the explosions on then surface grew closer and closer.

Rex looked away from Krell, in deep thought. This had never happened before. Should he keep him alive for questioning? Should he just end Krell right now? Is this the way to treat a prisoner of war? For all he knew, either choice in front of him could have dire consequences.

"I have to do this." Rex said.

"You can't do it, can you?" Rex still held the gun in Krell's direction, but he still held his fire.

"Eventually, you'll have to do the right thing-" Krell said as a blaster discharged and sent a blaster bolt straight into his back. He fell over with a groan and slumped over before he finally died on the cell floor.

The clones were all confused. Rex didn't fire. So he turned around to see that a pistol had occupied Dogma's shackled hands. Smoke poured out of the barrel.

They were all surprised. Fives felt his hip holster and looked down to see that it was empty. Dogma had pulled it out to kill Krell.

"I ... I had to." Dogma said, sounding out of breath and looking like he was going to collapse. Fives gently put Dogma's hands down and removed the sidearm as he did so. "He betrayed us."

Rex looked down at the corpse of General Krell, deep in thought.

* * *

The clones of the 501st Legion would eventually drive the Umbarans back with support from Master Kenobi's forces, who continued to rout the remaining pockets of resistance. And the Separatist fleet was finally pulling out of the system thanks to General Unduili and the two padawans.

It was soon time to round up the prisoners and take care of the wounded.

But despite what the propaganda vids would say, taking the planet wasn't going to be what stuck out for the Jedi Order or the Clones that fought on Umbara. It was going to be the fact that a member of the Jedi Order, a knight, had betrayed the Republic, and the Order that had sworn to protect it.

This was already shaking the Order at its foundation. But little did anyone know, Pong Krell's words, about the Jedi losing and the Republic falling, were going to haunt the Jedi order for the foreseeable future.

Another seed, that would bring about the fall of the Republic, had just been planted.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **So that's the prologue folks.**

 **Hope you're excited.**

 **this is Grubkiller, over and out.**


	2. Chapter 2-The Wrong Jedi

Hey folks, Grubkiller here.

This is the next chapter. It should sound familiar. If it is, please read my 'Author's note' at the bottom.

I want to divide the story into acts, each act will be bridged by different little short stories from certain Clone Wars episodes.

So please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own star wars.

* * *

 **"I did it. Because I've come to realize what many people in the Republic have come to realize, that the Jedi are the ones responsible for this War. That we've so lost our way that we have become villains in this conflict, that we are the ones that should be put on trial, all of us! And my attack on the Temple was an attack on what the Jedi have become: an army fighting for the dark side, fallen from the Light that we once held so dear. This Republic is failing! It's only a matter of time. _"_ -**Barriss Offee before being sent off to prison.

* * *

 _War continues to rip the Galaxy apart._

 _Peaceful worlds must choose sides or face the threat of invasion._

 _For the entire war, the Republic and Separatist armies have been locked in a stalemate. To break it, both sides vie for the control or influence of neutral worlds, create new weapons, secure new resources, and forge new alliances._

 _Sometimes, they'll open up a new theater of war, which was what was happening right now._

 _A former Republic world in the Core and Colonies region, named Cato Neimoidia, is in the middle of a great conflict. The Trade Federation is a large corporation that operates out of this system, and they've been contributing to the Separatist's deadly war machine for years. When concrete evidence came out that they were supporting the CIS, the Republic demanded that they stop providing aid immediately, or their assets would be frozen. The CIS, not wanting to lose a vital source of income, sends a large fleet to sieze control of the planet and evacuate their assets._

 _In response, the Republic has sent their greatest Jedi, Anakin Skywalker, along with his padawan Ahsoka Tano, and a fleet of Republic warships to drive off the CIS threat._

* * *

Above Cato Neimoidia, A task force of Ventaor-class Republic Star-Destroyers, along with their escorts, hovered above the planet, exchanging fire with a trio of Munificent-class Separatist Star Frigates.

A squadron of Z-95 headhunters were escorting a flight of Republic Gunships to the surface. They were being led by two Jedi Starfighters. One was yellow and gray, and the other was dark red with white and green markings.

A flight of Separatist Vulture droids went up to engage the Republic space craft. They fired their red laser bolts, but before they could do any damage, a volley of blue laser bolts from the yellow starfighter ripped two of the vultures apart, clearing the way for the rest of the Republic ships.

"Ahsoka, punch a hole for the gunships to get through," Anakin ordered over the comm.

"I know the drill master," the beautiful togrutan padawan replied.

She flew along side her master, blasting her weapons as she went. Several more vultures flew up towards the Republic fleet. Some were shot down by Ahsoka and her master, but the rest broke off, ignoring the Gunships. They continued down to the surface, punching through the thick cloud cover and eventually seeing the surface of Cato Neimoidia.

The planet was known for its massive arches, deep gorges and chasms, and even more so for the bridge cities. It was a breathtaking sight.

But that sight was ruined by a fleet of Separatist warships, which hung right above the arches and mountains. As the Republic space craft flew through the heavy flak, and as the Republic fleet began to break through from the atmosphere, the Separatist warships launched tri-fighter droids to engage them. Some of the fighters were shot down by the Gunships and Z-95's, but the rest made a hard turn and pursued the fighters. They fired, shooting down a pair of Z-95s, which spun out of control and exploded. They then pursued the Jedi fighters through the gold plated buildings of Neimodia's bridge cities. A couple of the pursing droids fired missiles at the Jedi fighters.

An alarm went off inside of Ahsoka's fighter.

"Look out, incoming missiles!" Ahsoka exclaimed.

She did a barrel role to the right, while Anakin swooped down slightly to duck from the incoming missiles.

"No problem," Anakin said confidently as the missiles flew passed them harmlessly.

That's when they exploded. Then a swarm of little yellow and gray soccer balls flew towards their fighters. They were buzz droids. They were little droids that were designed to rip apart the hull of any ship.

"Uh, slight problem," Anakin said as several of them attached to his hull.

Each droid opened up and went to work, deconstructing Anakin's fighter.

"Ahsoka, I've got buzz droids. How bad did you get hit?" He asked.

"I'm all clear,' she said.

He was stunned.

"What? You always have it easy snips," Anakin said, using his signature nickname for Ahsoka.

The buzz droids continued to use their little hacksaws to rip apart Anakin's ship. One droid got face to face with R2-D2, Anakin's astromech droid. It looked at him threateningly, flashing its little buzz saws. R2 simply slammed one of the wings of the ship onto the droid, crushing it.

"Good job Artoo," Anakin said as the droids began to bunch up over the cockpit window. "Someday, these droids are going to learn that they keep messing with the wrong Jedi," he said as he used the force to fling the droids away from his ship.

"Looks like you're clear," Ahsoka said as she checked Anakin's hull for more droids.

"Just keep watching and learning padawan," Anakin said just when he heard a sickly creaking sound beneath him.

He looked down and saw a drill puncture the floor between his feet.

"Uh-oh," Anakin said as electricity began to crackle around him,

"You're trailing smoke," Ahsoka said. "What's wrong?"

"Uh, nothing serious," Anakin lied as he checked his instruments. "Just a small malfuncti-," Anakin tried to say before an explosion inside the cockpit threw his head back. The force knocked him unconscious.

"Master? Master, come in," Ahsoka tried to saw to Anakin over the comm. "Artoo? What's going on over there?"

Artoo beeped a reply.

"Unconscious? Fly back to the cruiser," she ordered.

Artoo beeped another reply.

"What do you mean something's wrong with the engines? Tip your wing. I'll see how bad it is," Ahsoka ordered.

Artoo did as ordered and tipped the fighter enough for Ahsoka to see the ship's belly. But that was the problem. She couldn't see the belly. The hull was covered with buzz droids. She was horrified and stunned.

"Oh that's not good," Ahsoka said as she looked forward in stunned contemplation.

Artoo beeped a question.

"Let's just say that now would be a good time to land," Ahsoka said, not wanting to alarm anyone. "Can you land on that cliff ledge?"

There was a large rock formation nearby. It had a cliffside strip. Ahsoka wanted R2 to land there.

Artoo beeped another reply.

"I don't care if the landing zone it too short. Get that ship on the ground," Ahsoka ordered.

Ahsoka flew her ship closer to Anakin's doomed one.

"R7," Ahsoka said before her droid beeped in response. "Take over the ship. I'm going after Anakin," she said as she pulled back on a lever, which released the canopy. Wind began to slip into the ship. Soon, the canopy was fully opened "Somebody has to save his skin," Ahsoka said to herself as she stepped out onto the hull of her own ship.

She stepped onto the wing, crouching down. R7 flew the ship next to Anakin's. They were almost wingtip to wingtip.

Beneath Anakin's ship, the buzz droids saw the cliff come closer and closer. One of them screeched in terror before they were smashed against the ground. As the ship skidded across the ground, Ahsoka jumped onto the hull, almost rolling off when she lost her footing. But when she regained her footing, she went up to Anakin's cockpit. She looked inside.

He was still unconscious.

She then heard R2 screech. She saw that the cliff was getting closer and closer. Acting quickly, Ahsoka reached for one of her lightsabers. She ignited her saber, the green blade extending from the hilt. She then slashed the laser sword across the canopy locks, opening the cockpit. She grabbed Anakin, pulled him out of the cockpit, and force jumped off of the ship and onto the cliff.

Ahsoka and Anakin went tumbling after they hit the ground, whilst the ship flew off of the cliff and into the gorge below. The young girl stopped and held her hand against Anakin, stopping him as well. Ahsoka then got up and ran to the cliff.

"R2!" She exclaimed.

The droid was nowhere to be seen. She then heard a boom echo throughout the valley. The white clouds glowed orange for a second.

Ahsoka stopped breathing for a second.

That's when she heard excited whistling and rocket boosters below. Then the dome-headed blue droid appeared out of nowhere.

"UH! Very funny R2," she said as she turned around to see Anakin waking up. "Are you okay Master?"

She couldn't help but smile at the sight of him on his back.

 _'Some of my favorite dreams with him involve him being on his back ... and naked'_ , Ahsoka thought to herself as she thought about the crush she used to have on him for a while. Her cheeks warmed up a little as she blushed.

"Yeah," he said as he held his head. "What did I miss?"

"Oh, not much," Ahsoka said.

Then Anakin became agitated.

"Wait a minute. Wasn't I flying? Where's my fighter? How did I get here?" He asked, clearly alarmed.

Ahsoka smirked. "Fighter crashed, I saved the day. You're welcome," she said as she walked over to the cliff.

Anakin looked off into space with a confused look for a second.

"Hm. Okay then," Anakin said before he activated his com-link. "Rex? Ahsoka and I could use a little help".

" _Roger that sir_ ," Rex said over the comm.

As Ahsoka walked up next to him, his com-link blinked again.

A hologram of master Yoda appeared.

"Master Yoda," Anakin said, surprised.

" _Return to the Jedi Temple you should_ ," Yoda said.

Anakin and Ahsoka looked at each other surprised.

"Uh, we're kinda busy master Yoda," Anakin said as a Separatist frigate's engines exploded, causing it to sink to the surface.

Republic and Separatist fighters were dogfighting all across the sky.

" _Important the reason is we need you, Skywalker_ ," Yoda said before an image of the temple replaced his own. Smoke was pouring out of it. " _Bombed the temple someone has. Need you to help us find the terrorist we do_ ".

"Who could successfully bomb the temple like that?" Ahsoka asked with concern.

"We'll be right there master," Anakin said before he shut his com-link off.

A gunship was landing on the cliffside. Ahsoka and Anakin walked over to it.

They had a new mission to attend to.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _When Anakin and Ahsoka got back to the temple, they immediately went to work solving the crime._

 _They interrogated witnesses, and overlooked the origin of the explosion._

 _They eventually discovered that the bomber was a woman named Letta Turmond, who placed small explosives in her husband's food. That's what caused the explosion, killing 6 Jedi, along with several clones and workers._

 _Going to their apartment, and discovering Letta's little bomb making office, they chased after her and eventually caught her._

 _After the funeral, Ahsoka was called to the prison where the bomber was being held. She claimed that she was forced into it._

 _Before she could spill the beans to Ahsoka, she was killed. Levitated in the air and choked to death._

 _Since Ahsoka was the only one there, she was accused of killing her._

 _Then one thing led to another and she was accused of murdering several clones, whose bodies she happened upon. So the clone army went after her._

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

It was a dark night.

Storm clouds hung over the horizon, preparing to unleash their thunderous fury.

But in the courtyard of Coruscant's military complex, amidst the the militaristic statues, red and black Republic banners, and floodlights, the massive doors opened up. When they did, they revealed a platoon of white and red armored clone troopers from the Coruscant Guard. In the dark cloudy sky, several gunships were flying around, scanning the base grounds for suspicious persons or activities.

They were on the hunt.

Their prey: Jedi Padawan Commander Ahsoka Tano. Wanted for murder.

Behind them, Ahsoka Tano, who was concealed by a gap between the massive dual layered double doors, stuck her head out to watch the clones walk by. Two of them were holding leashes, which were connected to the throats of the meanest looking Massiffs she'd ever seen. As the heavily armed clones marched, the dog-like creatures sniffed about, trying to pick up Ahsoka's sent.

When they walked passed Ahsoka, she gently snuck behind them. As she made it to one of the columns, which were lined up with massive twenty foot tall clone trooper statues, one of the Massiff's began on growl. It turned around and pulled his handler to look at the statues. It caught a glimpse of Ahsoka and made like he was going to pounce before he barked at her. The clone handler looked at where the dog was looking and saw nothing.

He whistled before he yanked on the chain leash, coaxing the dog to comply with its master.

"Come on Grezer. There's nothing here."

The dog stopped growling and continued to walk with his clone handler, who moved to catch up with the rest of his platoon.

But up above, Ahsoka was perched on top of one of the massive clone statues. She looked down and waited until the coast was clear. But behind her, the base doors began to open again, revealing Clone Commander Fox and several Troopers.

"There she is!" Fox shouted while pointing at her. Ahsoka recoiled in fear, turned around, and force jumped off of the statue. "Quick, stop her before she gets to the ship!"

Ahsoka jumped on top of the ' _First Battle Memorial'_ , which was an enormous red-brown slab of rock that was carved from Geonosian rock, which was apart of a memorial that commemorated the names and numbers of clone soldiers that fell in the first battle of the Clone Wars. A quote from Kal Skirata, one of the Mandalorians that was contracted to train the clones, was also engraved on the wall. " _It's not enough for us to remember them. It has to be something the whole galaxy can understand."_

She ran the length of the sculpted rock wall, trying to put some distance between herself and the pursuing clones, who began to open fire. As she ran, she ducked to avoid the incoming blaster fire. When she reached the end of the wall, she force jumped off of the ledge and into the middle of open ground. But that's when a large turbo-laser turret rotated to face her. It's barrels tracked her movements and unleashed a hailstorm of green laser fire. Green laser bolts hit the ground behind her, motivating her to run towards her ship much faster.

Commander Fox, his men, and the barking Massiffs they brought with them, continued to chase after her. That's when the turbo laser turret stopped firing and aimed at her fighter. It fired another salvo, causing the ship to go up in a green and black explosion that threw Ahsoka across the ground like a rag doll. She looked up to see her ship reduced to smoking debris. She then looked back at her pursuers with fear. She got back up and ran away. She saw a flight of stairs that led down away from the base. She stopped and skidded across the floor and rushed down the stairs, her clone pursuers hot on her heals.

* * *

Back at the courtyard, Fox was speaking into his comm.

"All right, don't lose her. We'll be right there."

"What's going on?" A new voice asked.

The clones turned to see Anakin Skywalker and Captain Rex. They parted to let them through.

"We've found her. She's heading towards the industrial pipeline." Fox said, pointing towards the industrial pipelines nearby.

"Set weapons to stun. I want her alive!" Anakin ordered before he, Rex, Fox, and the others ran off in her direction.

* * *

Nearby, Ahsoka was running on the catwalks that ran the length of the massive pipeline complex.

The clones were hot on her heals. They stopped, took aim, and fired. Blue energy rings flew in her direction. They flew past her or hit the railings around her. Ahsoka turned and ran along another catwalk.

Some clones followed her on that catwalk, or they ran along an adjacent pipeline to continue firing on her. Stun blasts continued to fly or land all around her. She activated her lightsabers, turned around, and blocked three of the bolts that were right on target. She then turned back around to start running away again, her sabers still ignited. She found another staircase and jumped on the railing, sliding down it until she reached the bottom before she ran across to another staircase that led up to another catwalk. As she rushed up the steps, the clones began to fire on her again. She jumped over the railing and turned to face her pursuers. She was met by a wave of stun blasts. Ahsoka held up her blades and began to gracefully and expertly block the oncoming blasts, their blue energy crackling off of her green blades.

The clones stopped firing and began to run after her again, causing her to run away deeper into the industrial area.

* * *

On an airfield near the military complex, clones were piling into a pair of gunships. They turned their searchlights on and took off in the direction of Ahsoka's position. They flew into the rain that began to fall onto the area. On the ground Anakin and his men, who were running towards the pipeline.

Anakin spoke into his comm as he ran.

"Do not shoot to kill. Do not shoot to kill! Try to box her in. Don't let her escape. Tell me what you see, Oddball."

* * *

Ahsoka kept running.

The clones fired as they pursued.

Ahsoka knew it was coming. She swung her blades behind her back to block the stun blasts. She then turned around and crossed both of her blades in front of her face to stop more shots. When she saw that they were aiming for her feet. In response to this new tactic, she deactivated her blades and began to somersault backwards several times, the shots hitting where her feet used to be.

She reactivated her sabers and began to run again, blocking as she went.

* * *

The Gunships began to fly along the pipeline she was on.

" _She's moving west along the central viaduct,_ " Oddball said.

* * *

Ahsoka kept running on the catwalk. She was coming up on a tall conduit that divided the pipeline into sections. She stopped and turned to see the two gunships flying towards her. She turned around and force jumped into the air. She back flipped and spun in the air before she landed feet first onto the catwalk of the next pipe section.

The gunships flew alongside her.

" _All right, we got her now."_ Oddball said. He flew his gunship alongside Ahsoka, before he opened the side hatch, revealing a squad of clones that fired on her as she ran. She was blocking with her sabers, and front flipping as she ran to dodge the shots she couldn't block.

"This will knock her off her feet." One of the clones said as he picked up a rocket launcher.

He aimed it near Ahsoka. He fired. Smoke shot out of the back of the launcher and propelled a projectile in her direction. It hit the pipeline and sent her flying. She dropped both of her sabers. One fell onto one of the pipes and fell to the ground. The other landed on the catwalk which she was hanging from with her fingertips. As she hung there, she saw the clones from earlier firing on her behind. Stun blasts flew past her. Ahsoka pulled herself up and force jumped onto another conduit that allowed her to increase her field of vision. She turned around and used the force to summon her one remaining lightsaber blade. It flew into her hand and she activated it before she jumped away.

But when she tried to rush up to another catwalk, a gunship ascended right in front of her.

"Not so fast, Commander." The pilot said over the loudspeaker.

She tried to run back, but was blocked by more clones and snarling Massifs.

And there she was. In the middle of a spotlight from two gunships and surrounded by her own men.

All around her, more clones began to gather on the pipelines above her or rappel down from the gunships above her. She saw Anakin and Rex on one of the catwalks. They looked at each other, with horror written on their faces.

Before the clones could move to subdue her, she looked to her left and jumped onto on of the pipelines.

"Ahsoka!" Anakin shouted.

She landed on the pipe as the clones began to fire a storm of stun blasts at her. But she swiftly cut a whole into the pipe and jumped in, disappearing from sight, and leaving the clones baffled.

* * *

Later, Ahsoka moved through the pipeline and went into a storm drain that went underground. She avoided the clone patrols that were in the drain with her. She could hear their comm chatter and their feet splashing through the water.

She eventually came across the hole that overlooked one of the massive holes that led from the surface down into the Coruscant underworld. The wind gusted into the hole creating a breeze that was quite unsettling.

Before she thought of jumping in, a voice called to her.

"Ahsoka, what are you doing?"

She turned to see Anakin. He was alone.

"You didn't even try to come and help me."

"They wouldn't let me in to talk to you."

"You could have if you tried."

"How would that look, Ahsoka, huh? Forcing my way in would've made you look even more guilty."

"I'm not guilty!" There was sad desperation within Ahsoka's voice, as if she was begging her master to believe her.

"Then we have to prove you're innocent. The only way we can do that is by going back."

"I don't know who to trust."

"Listen, I would never let anyone hurt you, Ahsoka, never. But you need to come back and make your case to the Council."

"No." She snapped. 'I'm not going to take the fall for something I didn't do!" She said assertively.

"I am ordering you to put down your lightsaber and come with me now! Trust me."

They heard voices close by. And splashing. The clones were approaching.

" _General Skywalker, where are you?"_ One clone called out.

"I do trust you. But you know as well as I do that no one else will believe me. Anakin, you have to trust me now."

"Ahsoka, I do trust you."

"I know you do." Ahsoka said before she turned around towards the entrance to the underworld. "Wish me luck."

She looked over her shoulder and shared one last look with him before she jumped into the hole. Anakin rushed to the edge just as Rex and the others arrived. They watched as Ahsoka descended into free-fall. She stopped when she landed on a freighter that slowly descended into the underworld.

She looked at her master one last time before she descended into the next phase of her situation.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Ahsoka went underground, trying to avoid Clone Trooper patrols, while on a quest to prove her_ _innocence. With the help of her friend Barriss Offee, and Asajj Ventress (painfully_ long _story), she came across the lair of the real bomber._

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Ahsoka walked into the old abandoned warehouse that Barriss pointed her out to earlier. She walked inside and began to inspect some of the rusted out containers and shelves that collected dust.

"How am I supposed to find a clue when I don't even know what I'm looking for?" Ahsoka asked herself as she ran her hands along one of the containers.

Suddenly, she heard the unmistakable sounds of lightsabers being ignited behind her. She turned around and saw a cloaked lightsaber wielding figure jumping down on her from above.

She activated her own saber just in time to block her attackers blades. Ahsoka tried to push back, but the attacker shover her back. Ahsoka grunted as she was shoved against the containers behind her. The assailant swung both red blades at Ahsoka. But she ducked and slid under the figure's strike. She then stood up to face the cloaked figure.

They swung their blades against each other, while being sure to block and parry each others blows. Both fighters crossed their blades again. But Ahsoka was able to use her green blade to force both red blades into the ground. With the figure's defenses dropped, Ahsoka delivered a kick to the attacker's gut. But the attacker did the same, kicking Ahsoka's gut in return. They pushed each other back until they were a few yards apart.

Both duelists stared each other down. Then, the figure held a blade in front of its masked face. It was the same mask that Ventress wore earlier. It was her blades as well.

"Ventress! I see you've had a change of heart." Ahsoka said.

That's when ' _Ventress'_ used the force to pull a large metal beam down from the ceiling. Ahsoka looked up at the falling beam and back-flipped out of the way just in time. The metal beam hit the ground, kicking dust up everywhere. Ahsoka coughed when she was engulfed by the dust cloud. Ahsoka waved her hands and fanned the dust away. Through the disbanding cloud, she could see ' _Ventress_ ' climbing up multiple shelves to get out of the warehouse. Ahsoka rushed forward and began to climb up as well.

She jumped over the top of the ledge and growled as she assumed a fighting stance. But to her surprise, no one was there. She looked around. She was on another level of the warehouse. She could see stacks of containers everywhere. But no _'Ventress'_.

"Why bring me here? Answer me, Ventress. Why?" She kept calling out. She kept her guard up, scanning the area with her eyes and listening to the sounds around her with her Lekku.

She saw a pair of pipes clang together on the ground, causing her to tense up in fear. She looked at the pipes, completely perplexed. But then she heard the sounds of sabers igniting behind her.

"Ah!" Ahsoka exclaimed when she turned around and blocked ' _Ventress's_ ' attack.

 _'Ventress_ ' kept attacking, striking with her blade. Ahsoka was forced to block as she moved back deeper into the warehouse. She was forced to open up her defenses in response to one of her opponent's forceful strikes. Her opponent then kicked her in the torso so hard that she flew back through a pile of crates. But despite the wind being knocked out of her, she got back up and saw her opponent circling the crates between them. Ahsoka stepped out and limped towards ' _Ventress'_.

Their blades were ignited. Ahsoka stumbled towards _'Ventress_ ', who was walking back. Then she rushed up a few steel beams and jumped up to another level of the warehouse. Ahsoka followed. But then she saw several pipe pieces rolling down towards her from the level above. She grunted as she rolled to the sides and avoided them. She then rushed up the vertical beams, jumped, and then back flipped onto the upper level.

She was standing right next to ' _Ventress'_. _'Ventress'_ lunged forward, but Ahsoka vaulted over her back. Then she turned around and swung her blade down into ' _Ventress's_ ' back. Or she would have had _'Ventress'_ not dodged. Ahsoka swung her blades at _'Ventress'_ until she stabbed her blade in ' _Ventress's_ ' direction. But she dodged it, forcing Ahsoka to plunge her blade into a metal column.

She then ran after _'Ventress'_ and crossed blades with her again. She then forced her red blade into the ground, allowing her to deliver a kick towards _'Ventress's'_ head. ' _Ventress'_ leaned back to avoid it, and Ahsoka swung at her neck. But _'Ventress_ ' jumped over and behind Ahsoka. Ahsoka then turned to face her, but _'Ventress'_ slashed the barrels behind her, causing compressed gas to spray out and hit Ahsoka in the face.

Ahsoka screamed when she was temporarily blinded. That's when _'Ventress'_ jumped back and force pushed a pile of steel pipes at the leaking gas. The sparks ignited the fuel and began to burn brightly.

Ahsoka noticed this and ran. Just as the fuel tanks exploded, she vaulted over a piece of sheet metal to shield herself from the blast. But the blast sent her and the sheet metal flying.

* * *

Captain Rex and Anakin were flying in a Gunship that was flying through the underworld. That's when Rex heard a message on his comm.

 _"Calling all units. Suspicious activity on level 1315."_

Rex turned to Anakin, who was listening. They nodded to each other and told the pilot to turn around. They were soon flying towards the warehouse in question.

* * *

Ahsoka was pinned by the metal shield and somewhat disoriented. She could barely move. But then she felt the metal being lifted off of her. She began to crawl away when she saw _'Ventress'_ standing above her, who tossed the metal sheet aside with the force.

She bent down and lifted her up be her shoulder and threw her face first into the wall.

Ahsoka grunted in pain.

But she managed to stumble to her feet and activate her saber, holding it between herself and Ventress as she stumbled backwards. _'Ventress'_ kicked a pair of crates out of her way to get to Ahsoka. She then summoned a force push that sent Ahsoka flying through another pile of crates. She landed near a ledge, where her lightsaber landed next to her and rolled off of the edge.

But despite watching her blade fall away from her, and feeling groggy and sore, Ahsoka wasn't done. She got back up and stumbled into a fighting stance. She raised her fists to _'Ventress'_ and twirled around in a circle, delivering two circular kicks into the figure's direction. But the figure got under her attack and elbowed her in the ribs. Ahsoka grunted in pain and stumbled backwards. That's when the figure delivered a mean kick to Ahsoka's forehead. Ahsoka grunted and screamed as she fell off the ledge and crashed through two stories of wooden floor until she landed in a room full of crates. She groaned in pain as she tried to get back up. Her head was throbbing, her bones ached, she was covered in bruises, and she was fairly certain that she suffered a concussion. But still, she managed to get up on her hands and knees.

That's when she saw the crates in front of her.

Her eyes opened in shock and surprise.

"Nano-droids?"

She looked up to see the figure, that she'd just fought and assumed was _'Ventress_ ', looking down at her from two floors up. They stared at each other. But then the figure walked away.

Ahsoka was confused. _Why was she walking away?_

She got her answer when she turned around and saw several clones led by Commander Wolffe cornering her. She put her hands up and desperately tried to explain herself.

"No, Wolffe, let me explain-"

But it was too late. The wolf-pack commander fired a stun blast that overloaded her nervous system, before she collapsed into a crumpled heap. The clones went to subdue her. They soon started investigating the crates as Anakin and Plo Koon walked in.

Anakin kneeled down next to her and held her wrist. Sadness was written all over this face.

"Explosives," Wolffe said as he picked up a canister of nano-droids to examine it. "These are the same types of nano-droids that were used to blow up the Jedi Temple".

Anakin was surprised.

"I can't believe it".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Ahsoka was captured and sent to the temple to be put on trial, where she was kicked out of the order and the military, and then sent to a Senate trial after Admiral Tarkin pressured the Jedi to do so._ _Only Anakin believed her to be innocent. Even Plo Koon, who brought Ahsoka into the order when she was three, was forced to follow the council, while in deep sadness._

 _Then she was put on trial in front of the senate and she was about to be sentenced._

 _But during the trial, Anakin was trying to clear her name. He spoke to Asajj Ventress...(yes, Asajj Ventress)...sense she was with Ahsoka in the underworld._ _The former dark assassin told Anakin about someone named Barriss, one of Ahsoka's closest friends._ _But that's when Anakin went to confront her. She then tried to kill Anakin, and after a lengthy duel through the temple's grand halls, she was apprehended._

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Courtroom_.

Chancellor Palpatine looked out over the chamber. On either side were senators and military leaders of the Republic. They were voting on Ahsoka's verdict. The chancellor was given a data pad with the final vote. He looked at it and spoke. Ahsoka's defense, Senator Padme Amidala, looked defeated.

She failed to defend Ahsoka.

To defend a friend.

To defend the padawan of her secret husband.

"Ahsoka Tano. By an overwhelming margin, the Senate has voted to..." he paused, looking past Ahsoka at the entrance. "...What is this?"

Everyone looked at the main entrance to see Anakin Skywalker and two temple guards escorting a Mirilian girl.

"Your excellency. I bring you the real Temple bomber," Anakin said, pointing at Barriss.

"Barriss?" Ahsoka asked under her breath.

All eyes were on Barriss, and a torrent of whispered conversations erupted from the chamber.

Camera droids floated near her, projecting her image across Republic space.

 _"_ I did it. Because I've come to realize what many people in the Republic have come to realize, that the Jedi are the ones responsible for this War. That we've so lost our way that we have become villains in this conflict, that we are the ones that should be put on trial, all of us! And my attack on the Temple was an attack on what the Jedi have become: an army fighting for the dark side, fallen from the Light that we once held so dear. This Republic is failing! It's only a matter of time _,"_ Barriss said.

Everyone was stunned to silence. Ahsoka looked like she would feint and tear up at the same time.

Palpatine stood up. "Take her away," he ordered.

Barriss was pulled away by the two guards, leaving Ahsoka, and everyone else in the chamber, stunned.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Council Chamber, Jedi Temple_.

Back at the Temple, Ahsoka was meeting with the Jedi Council.

"Ahsoka, I am so sorry about everything," Anakin said.

"You have our most humble apologies, little 'Soka," Master Plo Koon said. "The Council was wrong to accuse you".

"You have shown such great strength and resilience in your struggle to prove your innocence," Master Saesee Tiin said.

"This is the true sign of a Jedi Knight," Master Ki-adi Mundi said.

"This was actually your great trial. Now we see that. We understand that the Force works in mysterious ways, and because of this trial, you have become a greater Jedi than you would have otherwise," Mace Windu said.

"Back into the Order you may come," Yoda offered.

"They're asking you back, Ahsoka," Anakin said as he held out Ahsoka's silka beads, which were taken from her before the trial _. "_ I'm asking you back".

Ahsoka looked from Anakin to the silka beads and back again before reaching out. But instead of grabbing the beads, she closed Anakin's hand around the beads. Anakin had shock and hurt written all over his face.

"I'm sorry, Master, but I'm not coming back," Ahsoka said before she walked out. Anakin was stunned. Moments later, he ran after her, leaving a saddened council behind. Obi-Wan tried to follow Anakin, but Plo Koon placed his hand on his shoulder, causing Obi-Wan to stop and let Anakin go after Ahsoka on his own.

* * *

Outside the temple on the west exit, facing the setting sun, Ahsoka was preparing to walk down the stairs. But Anakin was right behind her.

"Ahsoka, wait! Ahsoka, I need to talk to you!" Anakin called out

She stopped and turned, just as Anakin caught up to her.

Anakin sighed.

"Why are you doing this?" He asked.

"The Council didn't trust me, so how can I trust myself?" She asked.

"What about me? I believed in you. I stood by you," Anakin said.

"I know you believed in me, Anakin, and I'm grateful for that. But this isn't about you. I can't stay here any longer, not now," she said.

"The Jedi Order is your life. You can't just throw it away like this. Ahsoka, you are making a mistake," Anakin pressed.

"Maybe, but I have to sort this out on my own, without the Council and without you," Ahsoka said.

"I understand. More than you realize, I understand wanting to walk away from the Order," Anakin said, almost on the verge of tears, as he thought about his secret wife, who was Ahsoka's defense.

Ahsoka looked at him with a sorrowful expression on her face, knowing exactly what (or who) he was talking about.

"I know," she said, much to Anakin's surprise, as she turned and began walking down the stairs.

Anakin watches her until she disappears down the steps of the Jedi Temple.

She's walking towards the sunset...towards the future.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Author's note:**

 **'Well Damn. I almost cried writing the latter half of this chapter.'**

 **"But I'm Man enough to keep it together during scenes from my favorite TV show". (*Sniffle*, *Weep*, uncontrollable sob.) "Okay I lied! DON'T JUDGE ME!"**

 **But anyway, back to the chapter.**

 **I know what you guys are all thinking: "But Grubkiller, why are you ripping scenes from episodes that we already watched?"-confused/crybaby reader.**

 **I'm glad you asked dear reader. This chapter isn't really apart of the main story per se. It's more like a prologue for the next section of the story. Sense this'll be a merge between several of my stories, I'm dividing this story into sections, which will be bridged by chapters/Clone Wars throwbacks like the one you just read, in order to help you all put things into perspective better, and as filler. Chapters like this one also set the tone that I'm trying to set. (i.e. dark, ominous, mysterious, gritty)**


	3. Chapter 3-Dark Conspiracies

_Hey guys and gals (or people who can't make up their minds), Grubkiller here._

 _For this story, I want to start off with chapters that portray scenes from the clone wars in order to bridge the gap between the section that I plan on dividing this story into._

 _Last chapter, I portrayed Ahsoka's betrayal arc from Season 5. This time, I'll write the what is literally the script of the 'the lost one' episode, and a scene from the Kyber Crystal arc_. _Next, I'll publish the first major section act of the sto ry._

 _So anyway, I hope that you all enjoy it_.

 **"Grubkiller's Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. It was created by lucasfilms, which is currently owned by the dark side.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

* * *

 **"If this was known, public confidence in the war effort, the Jedi, and the Republic would vanish. There would be mass chaos."-** Mace Windu, upon realizing that the Sith were behind the creation of the Clone Army.

* * *

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _"A long-awaited truth!"_

 _"A distress signal has been received at the Jedi Temple, and Master Plo Koon has been dispatched to investigate its origin. The signal is from a ship thought to be lost and was last known to be in the possession of a Jedi Master who was killed long ago..."_

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Oba Diah's frozen moon_.

 _"Can anyone hear us? Come in, please._ _We're not getting anything over here. We're off. We must be way off_ ". Came a voice from inside the blizzard, which was blasting snow across the desolate landscape.

Through the blizzard, the sounds of giant machines rumbled through the storm. Republic walkers, tanks, and infantry were stomping and trudging through the frozen and Godforsaken landscape that made up the surface of Oba Diah's moon. The Clones from Master Plo Koon's Wolf-pack were looking for their objective: A distress signal from a long-forgotten ship.

" _Negative. It is here. The data specifically states. It has got to be,_ " another clone said over the comm from inside the lead Republic viechle, a large ten-wheeled juggernaut tank.

" _We've scanned the area three times. This is a wasteland. There's nothing,_ " the first clone said into his comm, as he and his comrades continued trudging through the snow.

* * *

Inside the juggernaut, the unit's leaders were overseeing the operation.

"All of our information pinpoints it is here," Commander Wolffe of the wolfpack unit said to the trooper outside, as he stood over a trooper who was manning the comm terminal.

" _I don't know what to tell you, sir. We're getting no visual and no recognition on the scanner,_ " the trooper outside informed.

"We must locate the source of the signal, Commander," Plo Koon said. "Press on," he ordered.

Seconds later, an alarm began to blare inside of the tank.

"Wait. I think I've found something. It's very faint, sir," the comm trooper said as Wolffe and Plo leaned over his shoulders to look at the terminal.

"That is it," Plo said.

Wolffe nodded at his general and they both went to exit the tank.

* * *

"Halt! Halt! Halt all vehicles!" One of the clones outside called out.

Every viechle in the Republic column came to a sudden crunching halt.

Clone Troopers began to investigate the area with their flashlights. They followed Plo Koon as he walked away from the convoy. They still couldn't see anything because of the storm. But then they saw something.

It was a silhouette of something.

An object.

The troopers waved their lights against the object. It looked like a ship of some kind. Only it was ripped open in some spots. Plo Koon ducked in order to clear his head beneath the opening in the damaged hull.

"The hull shows substantial scoring and wear. Whenever it crashed, it wasn't recently," Wolffe said as he and his men followed Plo Koon into the ship.

Plo Koon continued to investigate the ship, moving into it until he reached the cockpit.

"General Plo, the scans check out. It's a T-6 shuttle, all right, serial number 775519," Wolffe said as he continued following the Jedi Master into the ship.

The Kel Dor Master stopped when he saw something under a pile of snow. It was a cylinder of some kind.

As he lifted it, the snow was shaken off, revealing what it really was: A lightsaber.

"I want the entire area cleared. We're taking everything back to Coruscant," Plo told Wolffe.

"Everything?" Wolfe asked.

"Everything!" Plo confirmed.

As Wolffe and his men left the ship, Plo stayed in the cockpit of the dead ship. He was still examining the saber he found. He pressed the button on the hilt, igniting the saber. The blue blade extended from the hilt. Dust seemed to hover around the blue light.

Though he didn't know it yet, he began to suspect that this was the first time in years that this saber was activated.

Question was...what happened to the owner?

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Council Chamber, Jedi Temple, Coruscant_.

"Then it is the lost ship of Master Sifo-Dyas?" Mace Windu asked,

He and the other council members were speaking to a hologram of Plo Koon, who was still on Oba Diah's moon.

" _I found this at the crash site,_ " Plo said, levitating the saber hilt that he found at the crash site.

"Hmm, the lightsaber of Sifo-Dyas it is. Never found when he died it was," Yoda said, somewhat distraughtly.

Everyone in the council was silent as they remembered Sifo-Dyas. A former member of the Council, and a friend.

"Master Kenobi, remind the Council of what you discovered regarding Master Sifo-Dyas before the start of the Clone War," Mace said.

All eyes were on Kenobi.

"My investigation of the bounty hunter Jango Fett led to Kamino," Obi-Wan said, as everyone looked in his direction. He continued. "The Kaminoans recounted that it was Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas who ordered the production of a clone army".

"Without the consent of the Council or the Senate he did this," Yoda said.

"Prior to the blockade of Naboo, Sifo-Dyas sat on this Council until we judged his ideas to be too extreme," Windu said.

"Indeed, he said he foresaw a great conflict and that the Republic would need to raise an army. At the time, the Council rejected those ideas," Plo's holographic image said.

"Well, it's not the first time we've been wrong recently, is it?" Obi-Wan said.

"The creation of the clone army, kept secret from us Sifo-Dyas did. How this was done we know not, yet now a new piece of the puzzle we have," Yoda said, clasping his hands together whilst in deep thought. "Perhaps clarity it will bring us, yes".

Plo Koon bowed before his hologram disappeared, leaving the council to decide their next move.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Jedi Temple communications center_.

Several Jedi masters were gathered around Madam Jocasta Nu as she showed them a hologram of Sifo-Dyas' last known location.

"Our records definitively state that Master Sifo-Dyas died on Felucia. In the fifth quarter, a small skirmish broke out between the native Felucians. Master Sifo-Dyas was assigned to negotiate peace talks between the tribes". The Jedi librarian said as she showed a hologram of Sifo-Dyas and a hologram of his mission records shoed up over the holotable. "The negotiations failed, and Sifo-Dyas was killed".

" _What became of his body?_ " Plo Koon asked via hologram.

"I'm afraid I cannot answer that," Jocasta said as the holographic data blinked red. "Any further information on this incident has been sealed".

"On whose authority?" Mace Windu asked.

"By the office of the Supreme Chancellor," Jocasta informed.

"Thank you, Madame Jacosta," Windu said.

Jocasta gave a slight bow before she left.

"To Felucia, Skywalker and Kenobi will go. A trail long cold it is, yet still lay hidden there a clue might be. Question all who were present the day of Sifo-Dyas' death, you must," Yoda ordered.

"And what of the sealed file?" Windu asked.

"Speak with the Chancellor personally I will to see what part in this the politics of the Senate have played," Yoda said as he looked at the hologram of Sifo-Dyas, which looked right into his eyes ominously.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Senate Building, Office of the Supreme Chancellor_.

All across Coruscant, people continued to fly through the never ending beehive of traffic that crisscrossed above the city.

But in the Senate Building itself, the very center of Representative government was as busy as ever, as politicians went about their business, representing the needs of their people in this proud, yet deeply corrupt, institution. Behind a heavily guarded door was the very head of that institution. The Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic: Sheev Palpatine. He and Master Yoda were conversing.

"Master Sifo-Dyas? Forgive me. I'm afraid I am not familiar with that name," the Chancellor said.

"Died some time ago he did on Felucia," Yoda said as he hobbled around the lavishly decorated office on his cane. "Investigating his death we are, and yet sealed by the Chancellor's office some of his files were," Yoda informed.

"And what is the nature of your investigation?" The Chancellor asked.

"A Jedi matter it is, Chancellor. Add to your troubles I would not," Yoda said.

"That is very considerate, Master Yoda. May I at least ask when Master...?" The Chancellor paused and snapped his fingers whilst looking up at the ceiling, as if trying to remember the name.

"...Sifo-Dyas," Yoda said, helping the Chancellor.

"Yes, Master Sifo-Dyas. May I ask when he was killed?" Palpatine asked.

"Over ten years ago it was," Yoda said.

"Well, that explains it. I'm afraid this was before my time. Twelve years ago, I was a humble senator serving the planet Naboo. Only my predecessor, Chancellor Valorum, would have the answers you seek. I suggest you speak with him," Palpatine pointed out.

"Very well. Thank you, Chancellor," Yoda said as he hobbled out of the room.

The Chancellor gave a slight bow of respect. But then he frowned as Yoda exited the room.

Yoda looked back over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of Palpatine walking off to the side before the door slid shut behind him.

His com-link began to blink. He reached for it and answered it. A hologram of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker appeared.

" _I have spoken with the tribal leaders on Felucia. They use a very ancient dialect, which is hard to understand, but from what I can make out, when Master Sifo-Dyas died, he was not alone. There was a second Jedi here with him_ ," Obi-Wan's hologram said.

The investigation just became more interesting.

"And the name of this second Jedi?" Yoda asked the holographic Jedi in front of him.

"Either I don't understand them, or they won't say. It's hard to tell. This is a primitive people we are dealing with. After his death, they cremated Sifo-Dyas' body, and I'm afraid the trail goes cold there. Did you have any success with the Chancellor?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Hmm, as much success as usual, I am afraid. Pointed in another direction I am now. To speak with Valorum I go," Yoda said before he shut the com-link off and put it away.

 _A second Jedi was with Sifo-Dyas? Interesting this is,"_ Yoda thought to himself as he walked off to hail a speeder _._

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Ex-chancellor Valorum's private residence_.

In the middle of Coruscant's imposing skyscrapers, there was a shorter building topped off with a mansion. It was surrounded by greenery, unlike the rest of the planet. The building was also guarded by Senate Commandoes. Master Yoda waited at the front entrance as a man in a blue outfit and gray hair walked down the front stairs. It was former Chancellor Valorum.

"It's been a long time, my friend. What can I do for you?" Valorum asked as he walked down the stairs.

"A file sealed by your administration the Jedi Council has come across," Yoda said as he walked with Valorum down the stairs.

"The subject of the file?" Valorum asked as he turned his head to face Yoda.

"Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas," Yoda said.

"Sifo-Dyas?" Valorum asked as he came to a stop, clasping his hands behind his back. "When I was Chancellor, I sent him on a mission to deal with a flare-up in the Pyke syndicate".

Valorum was telling a much different story than the Jedi records were.

"The Pykes?" Yoda asked.

Valorum turned back around to look at Yoda.

"A powerful part of the spice cartel. Their criminal activities had allowed them to almost completely control the production of raw spice used to create a powerful drug. We were facing a full-scale war underneath the surface of Coruscant. Knowing of his expertise on the Underworld, I contacted Master Sifo-Dyas to stabilize the problem," Valorum said.

"Know of this, the Jedi Council did not," Yoda said.

"The Senate committee assigned to the matter feared that open discussions with such a criminal element could legitimize their activities and give strength to opposition leaders within the bureaucracy. Secrecy was our only choice," Valorum said as he looked back out over the horizon, or lack thereof.

"The timing of these negotiations, when were they to take place?"

"I cannot remember the precise timing, I'm afraid. It was so long ago. I do remember that the talks were postponed not long after our delegates arrived on Oba Diah, something about a flare-up of activity on Felucia".

Yoda began to notice that the two different stories were linked.

"Yes, intervene on Felucia, the Council insisted Sifo-Dyas did. But tell me, Chancellor. Who was the other Jedi you sent with Sifo-Dyas?"

"Other Jedi? I know of no other Jedi. There was only my personal aide, Silman, and Sifo-Dyas. I'm afraid they were both killed on Felucia"

"Personal aide, Silman?" Yoda asked.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Serenno, Count Dooku's private retreat_.

In Dooku's private estate on his home planet of Serenno, he was kneeling before a hologram of his master, Darth Sidious.

" _Tell me, why do the Jedi look for Sifo-Dyas? What trail are they following?_ "

"If there is a trail, it is unknown to me," Dooku said, maintaining his usually stoic facade. In reality, he was afraid.

" _Retrace your steps, find this loose end, and eliminate it_ ," Sidious ordered.

"I understand what is at stake, my Lord," Dooku said as he bowed. "I will go to the Pykes and take care of it".

" _This is not the first time you have proven to be clumsy, Lord Tyranus_ ," Sidious said as he began to close his left hand.

That's when Dooku began to feel an invisible pressure close around his neck. He was being choked. He gagged and tried desperately to breath, but to no avail. Sidious then raised his hand, forcing Dooku to levitate above the ground.

" _You know the price of failure_ ," Sidious said it venom in his voice before his hologram faded out of existence.

The pressure on Dooku's neck disappeared and he dropped to the ground, taking in deep breath. He then began coughing before he walked off to carry out his master's will. Failure would mean the end of everything that he and his master worked so hard to build, but not before Dooku met a slow end at his master's hands.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Jedi Temple communication center_.

Back at the temple, Master Plo Koon, who was back from his mission to Oba Diah's moon, was walking in on a conversation between Yoda and the holographic versions of Obi-Wan and Anakin.

They were addressing Sifo-Dyas, and Silman the personal aide to Chancellor Valorum.

The room was dark, and the holotable shines blue light on the dark walls.

 _"The Felucians know nothing of this Silman_ ," Obi-Wan said before he and Anakin turned back to the holotable. " _No one there seems to know anything about him_ ".

" _What's that symbol he's wearing?_ " Anakin asked, referring to the pendant that Silman was wearing on his cloak around his neck.

"The symbol of the high Chancellor, before the war, Chancellor Valorum," Yoda said.

"So we have one dead Jedi with no physical evidence of a body," Obi-Wan said aloud as Plo Koon pressed a few keys on the holotable, bringing up several planets. One of them, Felucia, blinked red. "...a second Jedi who appeared on Felucia that we have no record of, and now this Silman, personal attache to the Chancellor, is missing?" Obi-Wan continued.

"Yet now we know Sifo-Dyas and Silman were both on Oba Diah, according to Chancellor Valorum," Anakin added.

Plo Koon punched in a few more keys on the holotable. Two spheres appeared above the table. An orangey brown planet, with a small whitish gray moon orbiting it.

"The crashed shuttle I found was located on a moon which orbits the Pyke planet," Plo soon said, pointing to the planet he just brought up.

"Hmm. To the Pykes you must go, to Oba Diah, yes," Yoda ordered, pointing to the the two holographic Jedi.

Obi-Wan and Anakin bowed before their holograms disappeared, leaving Plo Koon and Yoda in deep thought.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Oba Diah system, Pyke syndicate territory_.

A Republic shuttle blasted out of hyperspace over Oba Diah, which was at the very heart of the Pyke syndicate's territory. It sailed through space until it moved through orbit. Anakin and Obi-Wan were piloting the ship. When they were through the atmosphere, they could see rock formations covered in a layer of clouds. They eventually found a compound that towered over the rocks. Freighters and cargo transports were coming in and leaving around the clock, dropping off or picking up products to make a profit.

Anakin reached up above him and pressed a key buttons, which engaged the landing gear as they made ready to touch down. The wings folded up, and their landing gear hit the deck with a thud that vibrated through the hull. A ramp extended from the bottom of the ship before they walked off of it.

They were on a platform that was filled with different boxes. It also had armed Pyke guards that were watching their every move.

When the Jedi walked passed them, they turned around to escort them into the building, which ws gray on the outside, with glowing green windows that allowed people to watch out over the landscape.

When Anakin and Obi-Wan walked into the building. A robotic hover sphere was watching them, as well as the guards. They walked past several Hutts, who were obviously in the market for something. They even saw servant girls and slaves on display.

Welcome to the far outer rim.

Anakin and Obi-Wan were eventually brought in front of a Pyke that was sitting on a throne of some kind. He was smoking something, possibly filled with something illegal in Republic space. He was also surrounded by togrutan and twi'lek servant girls, who wore clothing that only covered their wide hips and their large breasts ... barely. The Pyke leader, Minister Lom, looked up and breathed out an orange smoke substance.

He was vaping.

The alien looked at the Jedi with his purple glowing eyes.

"I cannot remember the last time a Jedi came here. Many years it has been," the Pyke boss said.

"Funny you should say that," Obi-Wan said. "We're looking for a Jedi that got lost here. His name is Sifo-Dyas".

"Oh, the Jedi Sifo-Dyas was here, but that was a long time ago," the stoned Pyke said.

"Master Sifo-Dyas' ship was found, crashed on a moon orbiting this world," Anakin said.

"What you found, we know nothing of," the Lom said as he accepted a wine glass from a togrutan servant girl sitting next to his throne. "Would the Jedi like to join us for a refreshment?"

Anakin was about to say something, as if to threaten him. But his former master, and friend, put a hand in front of him, interrupting him.

"The Pykes' offer is kindly accepted," Obi-Wan said.

Anakin rolled his eyes at his master's behavior.

The Pyke leader snapped his fingers. That's when a twi'lek servant girl walked up with a tray that had two glasses of drink in them. The two Jedi accepted the glasses.

"To friendship," the Pyke leader said as he raised his glass, before he began chuckling, somewhat ominously.

"Friendship," Obi-Wan said.

"Friendship," Anakin said, unconvincingly given his nature.

The Pyke boss downed his drink slobbishly, causing some of the drink drip down his chin. Anakin and Obi-Wan sloshed their drinks around, as if they were afraid to drink them. That's when Obi-Wan looked at the Pyke boss again. On closer observation, he saw that he was wearing the same pendant that Valorum's aide was wearing in his profile.

"What an interesting necklace that is. May I have a look?" Obi-Wan asked.

The Pyke finished his drink and spoke.

"Perhaps the Pykes have taken enough of the Jedi's time," the leader said.

"Oh, no, no. It's no bother at all. The Jedi are happy to know all the Pykes' secrets," Obi-Wan said casually before Anakin suddenly reached out with the force.

The servant girls recoiled in fear and the guards pointed their weapons at the two Jedi as their master was nearly ripped out of his seat. The necklace was ripped off of his neck and it flew into Anakin's hand.

"We have no quarrel with the Jedi," the boss said.

"Maybe you should tell us why you're wearing the crest of the Chancellor's personal advisor," Anakin said as he smashed his wine glass down on the floor before she flashed the necklace.

"I am confused," the boss said as he stood up from his throne. "Is the Jedi looking for a Jedi Master or someone else?"

"Stop playing games," Anakin demanded. "Sifo-Dyas was traveling with an advisor. They were sent here to negotiate with you," Anakin said as he pointed at the boss.

"Heheheh. Well, it looks like you have finally put the pieces together. The man you are looking for is here," the boss said.

Anakin and Obi-Wan glanced at each other, realizing that their suspicions were confirmed.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Oba Diah, Pyke syndicate stronghold, detention block_.

The Pyke boss, along with a probe and a pair of his guards, was escorting Anakin and Obi-Wan through the detention area. Cells lined the corridor, which was full of small rodents that scurried around, looking for food.

"The Pykes wanted to gain an advantage over the other crime families, so alliances were made. One alliance was with a man named Tyranus," the pyke boss said.

"I've heard that name before. Jango Fett mentioned it during my Kamino investigation," Obi-Wan said.

"Tyranus wanted Sifo-Dyas dead," the boss said as he continued leading them down the corridor. "The Pykes were well paid to shoot down his ship. However, any man that is willing to pay to have a Jedi killed is dangerous and unpredictable. The Pykes inspected the crash to retrieve the Jedi's body for proof. But with the dead Jedi, the Pykes found another, still alive".

"Silman, the Chancellor's aide?" Obi-Wan realized.

"The Pykes gave Tyranus Sifo-Dyas, but the Pykes did not tell Tyranus of Silman. The Pykes needed insurance," the boss said.

"Insurance?" Anakin asked.

"Yes, and now the Pykes can bargain. We give you Silman..." the boss said as he pointed his hand towards the cell door. "...You forget about the Pykes' treachery against the Jedi".

Anakin and Obi-Wan walked up to the door. A buzzing noise sounded out as the door opened. Several little rodents scurried out of the cell. The two Jedi looked at each other with uncertainty written all over their faces.

They walked in and came up on a second door. It opened and they walked into a dark room, which only had a couple rays of natural light shining through.

"Hello? Who-who's there?" A voice asked from the darkness.

"We are Jedi sent to find you," Obi-Wan informed.

"Jedi? To find me? Why me?" a man asked as he peaked at the Jedi over a conduit in the center of the cell. "I was betrayed, forgotten long ago".

Obi-Wan and Anakin looked at each other.

Anakin shrugged his shoulders.

"No one knew you were alive," Obi-Wan said.

Silman stood behind the conduit, which was covered in fat maggots, which throbbed and slithered.

"Quick. Maybe you have some food. Have you-have you any food?" Silman asked.

"Of course," Anakin said as he reached into his pouch and grabbed a ration stick.

"Oh, oh! Oh, oh, oh! Oh!" Silman exclaimed excitedly as he rushed over into the light in front of the Jedi on all fours. "Thank you, my friend," he said as Anakin recoiled in disgust. Silman had a scraggily beard and was covered in those maggots. "A supply bar!" Silman said as he grabbed the stick from Anakin's hands. "Mmm, mmm. Delicious".

Silman lied down across the dome shaped conduit and studied the ration stick gleefully. But he didn't actually eat it.

"You see, I was so frightened I would have nothing to serve. Oh, oh, oh! Oh, oh!" Silman said with excitement.

"Serve?" Anakin asked.

"My my babies, they get so angry when I have nothing to serve," Silman said, referring to the maggots that were all over his cell.

Anakin turned to Obi-Wan.

"We might have a problem here," Anakin whispered to Obi-Wan.

* * *

 _Oba Diah, Pyke stronghold, main landing platform_.

In the skies above Oba Diah, a ship of Geonosian design flew through the air towards the stronghold. As the ship came in for a landing, two guards walked up to the ship. When it landed, the doors opened and a ramp extended from them. A hooded figure wearing a brown cloak walked out.

"Tyranus! You are no longer welcome here," one guard said as they moved to apprehend the figure.

The figure brushed his hand to the side and the two guards were thrown off of the platform, screaming as they plummeted to their deaths.

* * *

 _Detention block_.

"I think you've been cooped up in here too long, old man," Anakin said to the 'man' feeding the maggots in his cell.

"We've come to take you home," Obi-Wan tried to reason.

"Home? No, no, this is my home. I can't leave my friends," Silman said.

"You were traveling with Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas. Tell us what happened to him," Obi-Wan ordered.

"HAHAHAHAH! Sifo-Dyas? He died. Died, died, died, died. Tricked, we were. The Pykes are not to be trusted. Oh, no, no, no, no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. But the Pykes were not the ones. No, no, the Pykes were not the reason," the scraggily freak covered in maggots said.

* * *

The hooded figure was walking through the detention block, on his way to complete his mission.

* * *

"Who was responsible?" Anakin asked.

"Someone powerful, someone who who wanted to be Sifo-Dyas," Silman said.

* * *

Outside Silman's cell, the two guards noticed a figure approaching them. They readied their stun sticks and prepared to engage the figure. But then they were levitated into the air and choked to death.

* * *

"Why?" Obi-Wan asked.

"All is deception. Can't you see? Because because-" Silman tried to say before he was levitated into the air. He began to struggle for air as he kicked his legs wildly.

Anakin and Obi-Wan recoiled in shock as Silman's neck was crushed. His body fell to the ground. The two Jedi turned around to see a familiar figure in their presence. The figure activated his red lightsaber. The two Jedi activated their blue ones in response, whilst assuming a fighting stance.

"Dooku," Anakin said with venom in his voice. "For once, you actually came to do your own dirty work".

"Sometimes things are just that important," Dooku said as he took his own fighting stance as he spun his blade in his hand.

Anakin and Obi-Wan attacked Dooku. The count stepped back out into the corridor. Their blades clashed. Dooku had one hand behind him as he adopted a defensive stance. Dooku eventually led them out onto a ledge outside. Ships were flying overhead, although oblivious to the fight down below. On the ledge, both Jedi parried with the Dark Lord. They fought back and forth. One Jedi would attack and parry, while the other held back, until they switched back and forth.

This kept going until Dooku kicked in Obi-Wan's direction, his foot making contact with Obi-Wan's torso. The Jedi master stumbled backwards and balanced one foot on the ledge.

Anakin extended his hand and kept Obi-Wan from falling. But this gave Dooku an opening to attack. He lunged forward, aiming to sever Anakin's hand...again. But Anakin jumped back to avoid Dooku's attack. However, Obi-Wan had no one to pull him up.

"Ah! Obi-Wan exclaimed as he flailed his arms and fell off the ledge. But caught himself just in time.

He pulled himself back up, grabbed his saber, and rushed to help Anakin, who was being pushed back by Dooku. The two Jedi attack the dark lord from two sides, but Dooku expertly parried their blows. They then began to rush along the ledge as they continued to clash their blades together. Dooku kicked and pushed the Jedi away from him. He grabbed Anakin with the force and threw him at Obi-Wan. But Obi-Wan jumped over Anakin and slammed his saber against the ground, creating a small shockwave that sent Dooku back.

He grunted before he held his ground.

When he was prepared to fight again, the Pyke boss and a couple dozen of his guards began to pour out onto the platform.

They stood alongside the Jedi and surrounded Dooku.

"You have no business left with the Pykes, Tyranus," the Pyke boss said.

"Tyranus?" Obi-Wan exclaimed. He and Anakin were shocked. "You are the man called Tyranus?"

"I told you everything you needed to know on Geonosis all those years ago, Kenobi," Dooku said as he pointed his red blade at Obi-Wan. "You should have joined me. Sifo-Dyas understood. He saw the future. That is why he helped me".

"You lie. Minister Lom, if you are going to help us, now is the time," Obi-Wan said.

"Kill Tyranus!" The Pyke bass ordered.

Every guard opened fire on Dooku, who expertly blocked every round that came his way.

Dooku summoned a force push that sent all of the guards near Kenobi and Skywalker to the ground. He continued deflecting laser bolts, send them back to the Pykes, who intensified their fire. Anakin and Obi-Wan combined their efforts to summon a force push towards Dooku.

But he dodged it just in time, knocking minister Lom and his guards down instead.

Dooku then jumped back down and plunged his blade deep into Lom's torso.

The pyke groaned in pain as his organs were impaled and cooked at the same time.

More guards rushed out to help surround Dooku.

Anakin and Obi-Wan cornered Dooku against the ledge.

That's when Dooku casually stepped off of the ledge.

The shocked Jedi ran up to the ledge to watch him fall, only to see him reappear on a transport that was taking off and getting away.

Obi-Wan looked at Anakin.

"Ill give you a push," he said.

Anakin took a running start, jumped off of the ledge, and was pushed by Obi-Wan.

He arched over the gap between the ledge and the transport, landing on it.

Anakin and Dooku fought each other viciously until he jumped back onto the engine. The two old rivals stared at each other from 20 yards apart. Dooku ran his blade across the engine, causing a chain reaction that caused several small explosions. Anakin was pushed back by an explosion and nearly fell back over the railing. He grabbed a hold of it. He then looked at Dooku through the smoke. Then he disappeared.

Dooku's solar sailor then appeared out of nowhere, leaving this whole mess behind. Anakin shook his head as he dangled from the hull of the damaged ship.

The mysterious enemy has eluded them once again. But he wasn't entire;y unknown

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Jedi Council Chamber, Temple, Coruscant_.

The Council was in session. Holograms of Anakin and Obi-Wan stood in the center.

"Know now we do that guide the creation of the clones from the beginning, Dooku did," Yoda said. "Hmm, our enemy created an army for us".

"If this was known, public confidence in the war effort, the Jedi, and the Republic would vanish. There would be mass chaos," Windu realized.

"Cover up this discovery we must. No one, not even the Chancellor, may know," Yoda said as Anakin looked to the side in deep thought. "Valiant men the clones have proven to be. Saved my life and yours they have many times. Believe in them we must. Win the war swiftly we must, before our enemy's designs reach completion, whatever they may be," Yoda finished.

Everyone looked at Yoda in stunned silence.

"Are you sure we are taking the right path?" Windu asked.

"Hmm, the right path, no. The only path, yes. Designed by the Dark Lord of the Sith, this web is. For now, play his game we must," Yoda said.

This was a deeply disturbing realization that the Jedi have made. If this conspiracy were to get out, it may mean the end of the Republic, an quite possibly the Jedi.

These were dark times indeed.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **(This next section is from the Kyber Crystal arc)**

* * *

 **" _Long ago in forgotten times, when the Sith and Jedi fought for control of the galaxy, weapons there were, of unimaginable power. Always at their heart, a kyber crystal was._ "**-Yoda

* * *

 _On the planet Utapau two Jedi, named Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, had been investigating the murder of a Jedi, who'd been on a scouting mission days earlier._ _But what they found was somewhat disturbing: A Kyber Crystal, about 25 foot long and 6 foot wide, being transported by General Grievous._ _When the Jedi made this startling discovery, they immediately pursued, following the cyborg General's cargo all the way up to a Separatist fleet in orbit above the planet._ _They wanted control of the crystal to bring it back to Coruscant, but as they were about to leave, complication arose, as they always did._

* * *

In the hanger of the CIS flagship, the two Jedi were trying to get the crystal aboard, using hover pads to lift the crystal and push it. But the entire Droid army had something different to say about that. They marched into the hanger with everything they had, including Sniper Droideka's. Hundreds of blaster bolts were rained down upon the two Jedi. They expertly deflected as many rounds as they could back at the droids, downing a few of them. But there were just too many of them. And the hover pads were hit, dropping massive crystal to the floor.

"Master, there's no way that we're going to get this crystal back home and fight off these droids," Anakin said as he struggled to deflect the oncoming laser bolts. "What do we do?"

Obi-Wan looked at the shuttle behind them, and then the crystal. Then he spotted a row of parked Separatist AAT tanks.

"Get in the shuttle and prep the engines," Obi-Wan said as he headed for the row of tanks.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Anakin asked.

"If we can't have the crystal, then no one can. Now get on the shuttle," Obi-Wan said simply before he continued back to the row of tanks, using the force to point all of the cannons at the massive crystal.

Anakin shrugged his shoulders and headed for the shuttle, cutting droids apart as he ran. Obi-Wan climbed onto a tank and jumped into the main cannon. He pressed the firing button, sending a laser bolt at the crystal. It was hit.

Green energy emitted from the crystal, vaporizing several CIS droids at the same time. One thing he and Anakin learned while hunting this thing: Kyber crystals were incredibly unstable.

He then started jumping from tank to tank, making each cannon firing automatically at the crystal. It began to break apart and emit glowing green lights from the cracks.

Grievous was watching the whole time, as energy burst began vaporizing his army, including the two Magna-guards on either side of him. He ducked just in time to avoid one of the energy blasts.

At the same time, Anakin was flying the shuttle out of the hanger. Obi-Wan decided that this was his queue to leave. He ran after the shuttle and jumped aboard as the crystal became more and more unstable.

Grievous was watching in anger. A battle droid walked up to him. Sir, the crystal is overheating. There's no stoppi-AAAAHHH!" The droid screamed as a green energy bolt completely vaporized him.

Grievous, realizing that the ship was doomed, copied off of what the Jedi were doing and climbed aboard his personal star-fighter. Pressing a few keys and buttons, the ship was primed for takeoff. Just as he swooped down the hanger of the supply ship just as an energy burst hit the nearby main reactor.

The explosion caused critical systems to shut down, and caused hundreds of secondary explosions. The ship was doomed. Grievous piloted his ship down the hanger bay and began firing on the Jedi controlled shuttle. His blaster rounds missed, as he couldn't line up a decent shot, having to constantly dodge the clamps that hung from the ceiling. He may not be able to deliver the crystal to his masters, but he could at least kill the Jedi who've caused this type of trouble for too long. So he continued firing as the ship fell apart and exploded around him.

Just when the Jedi controlled shuttle crossed the threshold of the hanger bay, the ship exploded forcing Grievous' fighter to spin out of control. When the ship exploded, the crystal became to unstable, and it too exploded. It created a massive shockwave that ripped most of the Separatist fleet apart.

Grievous regained control of his ship and escaped just in time, whilst the Jedi made the jump to hyperspace.

"As I said: If we couldn't have the crystal, then no one can," Obi-Wan said.

Anakin looked at him impressed.

"Master...you continue to amaze me," Anakin said as he made the jump into hyperspace.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Jedi Council chamber, Temple, Coruscant_.

Back on the planet-wide metropolis of Coruscant, Anakin and Obi-Wan were in the council chamber, reporting their findings to the council.

"It is unfortunate that you weren't able to bring the crystal back with you," Windu said. "We may never know what Grievous planned for it".

"Not Grievous," Yoda said. "The work of a Sith Lord this is. Better in the end, destroyed this crystal was".

"I've never seen nor heard of a Cyber crystal like this one before. Was the council aware of their existence?" Obi-Wan asked.

Everyone in the chamber looked at each other.

Then Mace turned over to Yoda.

"Master Yoda?" He asked.

"Out of the legends of old, this crystal comes. Long ago in forgotten times, when the Sith and Jedi fought for control of the galaxy, weapons there were, of unimaginable power. Always at their heart, a kyber crystal was. Just like the one you described," Yoda said.

Everyone was looking at Yoda as if he had grown three feet taller.

"You're speaking of children's stories. Fairy tails," Anakin said, somewhat dismissively.

"In legends we often find great truths, Skywalker," Yoda said before continuing. "A warning this is. Powerful the Sith Lord has become, with great designs for our destruction. If find one of these crystals he can, another he will seek".

And with those words, the very future of the order was in question. Not to mention the safety and peace of the whole galaxy. If the Sith are looking for crystals like this, what are they being used for?

* * *

 _Not far away, in the industrial district of Coruscant, a hooded figure was sitting in a chamber guarded by Separatist Commando droids. He was looking at a hologram. It was a sphere of some kind. It looked like an eyeball made of metal._

 _It didn't look like it, but this 'metal eye' was the instrument of the Sith's will, which was the galaxy's subjugation._

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **That's it folks.**

 **Next chapter, It'll be the first major section of the story.**

 **It'll be a retconned, and polished, version of my story, 'Escaping the Past'.**

 **As I said before: This story is a merge between some of my other stories, but with scenes from the Clone wars TV series to bridge the gaps, and put things into perspective.**

 **Anyway, I hope you'll stick around for the rest of the story.**

 **Please feel free to leave your thoughts in the review section.**

 **Until next time, this is Grugkiller, signing out.**


	4. Chapter 4-A New Pawn

**Have no fear, Grubkiller's** **here.**

 **Hey folks. This is chapter four, and the beginning of the first major section of my Clone Wars story, 'Fall of the Republic'.**

* * *

 **Now, I know what you're thinking:**

 **"But Grubkiller...you already wrote Escaping the Past twice. Why are you writing it for a third time."-confused reader (AKA: you)**

 **"You are correct Sir (or Madam). This first section is Escaping the Past. But it is different (again). I've decided to make a new version with changes. I wanted to put a bunch of my Clone Wars/ROTS era stories together for the beginning of my third AU. Read my profile for more details.**

* * *

 _ **Parts 4-10 of this story are apart of my Escaping the Past story which is merged with this one. I was actually inspired to write it because of another fan fiction. a clone wars fanfic called: A FALLEN JEDI (all caps), written by 'MikesFilm'. go check it out if you have the time. It is about plot ideas that were allegedly written by Lucasfilm for the later clone wars seasons before the show was cancelled by Disney.**_

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. It was created by Lucasfilms and is unfortunately owned by Disney.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Section intro : ** _Escaping the Past! After being the victim of a horrible injustice, Ahsoka Tano has left the Order that has betrayed her. Trying to find her place in life, Ahsoka takes on the role of head of security for Senator Riyo Chuchi of Pantora. But unbeknownst to her, she will find that leaving her past behind will be a difficult task._

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

* * *

 **"The Council didn't trust me, so how can I trust myself?"** -Ahsoka Tano, just moments before leaving the Jedi Order. (four months ago)

* * *

 _Galactic Senate Building, Coruscant, Republic capital_.

It was a beautiful day on Coruscant.

The sky was clear of clouds. Speeders flew across the sky carrying their passengers through the never-ending beehive of Coruscant's traffic, and to their destination.

Just another day in the busy heart of the Republic.

Ahsoka was standing in the office of her good friend, Riyo Chuchi. Riyo was a blue skinned Pantoran, who represented Pantora in the Senate. Ahsoka was the new chief of security for Riyo, who offered her the job out of the goodness of her heart.

The togrutan female looked out of the large glass window at the city skyline. There were Republic Warships taking off and carrying troopers to the front, and ARC-170's patrolled the skyline for anything unusual.

"Good hunting boys. May the force be with you," Ahsoka said to the ships that lifted off from their berths. Even though she didn't serve the Jedi, or the military, she still wished them well.

A door hissed open, and Riyo walked out of her overnight quarters into the office (all senators had them for long nights). She was wearing a dark red dress that went down to the midway point on her thighs, exposing her beautiful legs. She had silverish-purple hair atop her dark blue head. One of her security guards, Ion papanoida, the son of the Pantoran chairman, walked up to her. Riyo closed her eyes and turned her cheek, which Ion kissed.

Ahsoka smiled.

 _Those two are cute together_.

Riyo and Ion said something that Ahsoka couldn't quite make out, sense they were whispering.

She walked up to Ahsoka.

"Are you ready for the day Ahsoka?" Riyo asked.

It was the day of a major vote in the senate. The politicians were going to vote on the ultimate fate of the CIS worlds at the end of the war, once they were defeated.

 _'If they were defeated'_.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Ahsoka answered.

"Excellent. Shall we?" Riyo asked.

Ahsoka nodded and headed for the door. Riyo walked into the hall with Ahsoka and two Pantoran guardsmen. They went to meet up with the rest of the delegation near Riyo's hover platform. All senators were assigned hover platforms around the center rotunda of the building, where members of the senate went when it was in session.

Ahsoka and her blue-skinned companions continued walking down the corridor when they ran into a face that was all too familiar.

The face belonged to Lux Bonteri.

The young Senator walked through the ornate halls, along with his delegation. He was a young human male in his very late teens from the planet Onderon, a recently re-welcomed addition to the Republic after its civil war. Ahsoka knew him very well. They first met when Ahsoka and Padme went to meet his mother, Senator Mina Bonteri of Onderon, and conduct secret peace talks on the Separatist capital, Raxus. Ahsoka also helped him through several hardships, including a run in with Death Watch and taking his planet back from the CIS. Now, he was the Senator of the planet that his mother represented. But instead of the CIS, he was representing the planet in the Republic that it seceded from.

But on a much, much more personal note, Ahsoka had a big crush on Lux.

Normally, she would've been happy to see him on any regular day.

But this was not the time. She was still struggling with people from her past. And she was also struggling with her feelings for Lux, sense she wasn't sure how he felt about her. Especially with Steela Gerrera, a girl that also had a crush on Lux, and who Ahsoka tried to keep from falling off of a cliff during the final battle for Onderon's future. She was afraid of what Lux felt about her after letting Steela fall to her death.

Lux noticed Riyo and Ahsoka.

"Senator Chuchi, Ahsoka. It's good to see both of you here," Lux said. He stopped to make conversation with them, while his delegation continued on. Riyo's delegation did the same.

He looked at Ahsoka for a few seconds, but Ahsoka didn't meet his gaze like she always did. Lux then turned back to Riyo.

"So senator? Are you ready for the referendum today?" Lux asked, trying to stir up a friendly conversation.

"I'm not sure. I haven't made a final decision yet," Riyo said. "Some of my ministers want me to vote for a full-scale occupation, but I'm just not sure."

 _There were two choices in the vote for the CIS's future. Punish them with a full scale military occupation with punishing reparations, or temporary occupation followed by reintegration and limited reparations._

"Well, I'll be sure to try and make my case as best as I can. I'll be one of the senators arguing for a temporary occupation," Lux said.

"I'm looking forward to it. Now if you'll excuse me, I must get to my platform," Riyo said before going on her way.

Lux nodded to her and stepped aside, before turning his attention to Ahsoka, who was still standing there. He smiled and stared off into space in her direction once again. Ahsoka was too nervous, and ashamed. She blushed a little, but couldn't bring herself to make eye contact with Lux.

 _'Please don't look at me like that'_ , she thought to herself.

Ahsoka glanced at him. He was still looking at her, but his smile turned into a look of concern.

"If you'll excuse me Senator, I must be on my way," Ahsoka said, trying to be professional.

Lux's eye brows shot up for a split second and fell back down in place, to show that he was shocked.

"Oh, uh...of coarse Mi'lady. Please carry on," Lux said with an ever so slight bow of his head.

Ahsoka walked past him, trying not to make eye contact, and went to meet up with Riyo and the delegates. Lux watched her walking away and then back the other way. He stood there for a moment and inhaled. He felt like he had been punched in the gut. Then someone patted him on the shoulder. He nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Are you okay Senator?" Saw Gerrera asked. He was one of Lux's guards and his chief of security,

Lux shook his head a little, deciding to worry about it later. "Uh, yeah, I...I'm fine. Let's get to the pod," Lux said before they went on their way. As they went to find their delegation, Lux couldn't help but constantly think about his awkward reunion with Ahsoka.

 _'How am I supposed to give a speech with that encounter swimming around in my head_?' He thought to himself, as he walked through the ornate halls of the Senate building.

* * *

Darth Sidious sat in his secret lair on Coruscant. He had to be someplace soon, but that wasn't going to stop him from contacting his secret apprentice, Darth Tyranus, AKA Count Dooku. The founder and supreme leader of the Separatist Alliance.

Dooku's holographic image was in the room.

"What is thy bidding, my master?" Dooku said, kneeling before him.

"Lord Tyranus, there is a new matter that has grasped my attention. The apprentice of Anakin Skywalker is no longer a member of the order. But I have just been informed that she is still in possession of one half of the Nexus Route co-ordinates," Sidious said.

The Nexus Route was a key hyperspace route that stretched the heart of both the Galactic Republic and Confederacy of Independent Systems and thus was of seminal interest to both parties in their conflic, allowing both sides to launch secret strikes with ease. Back during the fight over who possessed possessed them, Ahsoka managed to get them from Master Even Piell before he died. But she refused to give them to to anyone but the council. She gave them to the order, but they didn't share many military secrets with Palpatine.

Dooku stroked his gray beard with interest.

"Those plans will go a long way in helping us win this war, and sew the seeds that will bring about the end of the Jedi," Sidious said.

"What would you have me do?" Dooku asked.

"The convicted Jedi Temple bomber, Barris Offee. I can feel her anger rising everyday. She could be of excellent use to us as an assassin. I want you to liberate her from prison, and get us those co-ordinates," Sidious ordered.

Dooku bowed.

"It will be done, my master," Dooku said, before his hologram image disappeared.

Sidious looked out over the city through the one-way shielded glass that protected him. He watched as people across the planet continued their insignificant lives, all while he plotted to run their lives with an iron fist.

 _All is going as I have foreseen it_.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Far away, deep in the G.A.R. military complex on Coruscant, an olive skinned mirilian girl sat in a meditation position in a ray-shielded prison cell.

She was clad in an orange prison jumpsuit. She had an uncomfortable cot for a bed.

A tray of untouched food sat on a table off to the side of the cell.

Her cell was guarded by Clone Troopers from the Coruscant Guard.

Her name was Barriss Offee. Former Jedi Knight. Former terrorist. Current enemy of the state in custody.

She sat and meditated. All she could think about was the Jedi. The Jedi who let her rot in this cell without a trial. The Jedi who treated her like she was the villain, when they worked for corrupt imperialists. The Jedi who abandoned her. Her former master, Luminara Unduli, had refused to see her. All they did was interrogate her.

They were her enemy.

Her mind was full of anger towards the jedi.

Her mind was full of hatred for the Republic.

Her mind was full of suffering.

She was the perfect candidate for being Dooku's new assassin.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **That's chapter 4 folks. Hope you enjoyed.**

 **Be sure to leave your thoughts down in the review section.**

 **Grubkiller, signing out.**


	5. Chapter 5-Path of a Jedi

**Have no fear, Grubkiller is here.**

 **Hey folks, here's part 5 of 'The Fall of the Republic'.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Senate Building, Coruscant_.

Ahsoka was still thinking about seeing Lux again, and the way she blew him off.

 _I didn't mean to. I'm just to confused right now._

Ahsoka was in a private conference room with the Pantoran Delegation. They were discussing the vote which had not taken place yet. Only the debate.

"Madam Senator. With all due respect, don't you think we should punish the CIS more. After all, they trespassed onto our soil early in the war and heartlessly blockaded our world just over a year ago," one of the delegates told Riyo.

"I am fully aware of the situation that was forced upon our cradle world due to this war. However, I don't believe that we should punish an entire section of the galaxy because of what their government's actions. My decision is final. I want to vote for a temporary occupation and reintegration," Riyo said.

Ahsoka smiled. She could tell that Riyo wasn't driven by emotion the way other senators are. She is willing to make calculated decisions while representing her people in dark times.

Riyo and Ahsoka shared a look and nodded to one another.

Just then, there was a knock at the door to the meeting room. One of the aides answered it and looked through the door. He pulled his head back in and looked at Ahsoka.

"Ma'am, it's for you," he said, prompting Ahsoka to go out the door.

The person on the other side was none other than Jedi Master Plo Koon.

Ahsoka straightened up and spoke to the jedi that she sometimes thought of as a grandpa, especially sense he was the one who brought her to the temple when she was three years old.

"Uh Master Plo, I-, Uhm-, Kotu-ya," Ahsoka greeted.

"kotu-ya little 'Soka," Plo said, using his famous nickname for Ahsoka.

The two of them shared a brief hug.

Ahsoka looked at one of the only other Jedi that didn't totally turn on her.

"What brings you here master Plo?" Ahsoka asked the older master.

"The council sent me to ask you a favor," Plo said.

"Oh? What for?" Ahsoka asked.

"We analyzed the structure underneath the Jedi Temple, that you discovered two weeks ago. It's a Sith temple," Plo said.

Ashoka's eye brow's (tattoos) shot up to her forehead.

"How is that possible? How could it have gone so long without being discovered?" Ahsoka asked.

"I don't know Ahsoka. But we are sending a jedi team and two clone trooper platoons to investigate the structure. But we are short on Jedi for this mission, which is why we wanted to know if you would be willing to go on the mission. We would pay you of coarse," Plo asked.

 _No wonder they sent master Plo. Also, they're willing to pay me?_

I'm not a mercenary master Plo. But that being said, I wouldn't mind a few extra credits for doing something that I've done before. Also, I don't mind helping the Jedi for something like this. I accept the mission," Ahsoka said.

"Very good Little 'Soka. The mission starts tomorrow. Go to the Jedi Temple tomorrow at 0600 hours to meet the rest of the task force," Plo said.

"I'll be there master Plo," Ahsoka said before hugging master Plo.

Master Plo left afterwards, and Ahsoka went to tell Riyo that she'd be busy tomorrow. She asked to leave early to prepare for the mission, which Riyo approved.

Ahsoka went to her apartment to meditate and get some rest.

 _It's going to be a long day tomorrow, but at least it'll be like old times_.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Ahsoka and the jedi task force, along with two clone platoons of the Coruscant guard made it to the entrance of the sith temple.

The entrance sported two large, and foreboding, statues of Darth Bane. He was the one that developed the rule of two.

The rule of two was a Sith protocol that recommended that there only be two sith at any given time. The master and the apprentice.

The three other jedi that accompanied Ahsoka were jedi master Djinn Altis and his two former padawans, knights Geith Eris and Callista Ming, who were both lovers.

Ahsoka worked with all three of them earlier in the war on the planet JanFathal **(Star wars the clone wars: no prisoners, by Karen Traviss)**.

"Well that's welcoming," Geith said, referring to the statues.

"How could this place have remained undiscovered for so long?" Callista asked.

"I do not know, but we'll learn more once we have gained entry," Djinn told his two former padawans.

The group made it to the entrance. It looked like a wall that had never been opened.

"How are we going to get through that?" one of the clones asked.

"I hear there's this trick that you can do with grenades," another clone smarted off.

"Cut the chatter you grunts," Commander Thire, who was accompanying the mission, ordered his men.

"Everyone be still. There is always a more, subtle approach," Djinn said.

Ahsoka ignited her temporary blade, loaned to her by the Jedi for this mission, and took a step towards the door.

"I'm way ahead of you master," Ahsoka said.

Djinn put his arm out to block Ahsoka. He looked at her and took a step towards the door as Ahsoka deactivated her blade.

"Let this be a lesson for all of you. All it takes is a little finesse..." Djinn said as he glided his hands over the door, studying it.

A section of the door pressed inward and the door rumbled as it opened.

"...Like so," Djinn said as he walked into the temple.

The younger jedi all looked at each other with impressed shock. Then they all entered the temple with Djinn, followed by the clones.

Commander Thire turned around and pointed to one of the eight clone squads.

"Stay here, secure the entrance, and make sure this door stays open. Understood?" Thire ordered.

One of the troopers, a sergeant, saluted.

"Sir yes sir," the sergeant said as he made hand motions to his men to form a perimeter.

The rest of the clones followed Thire and the jedi into the temple.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

It was dark inside. The walls were a dark gray.

The little amount of light in the entire temple, mostly from the clone troopers helmet lamps, showed that he air was full of dust from years of it collecting in the rooms atmosphere.

There appeared to be rotting and decaying statues from the times that this temple was occupied. There were also dead bodies belonging to Sith troopers and acolytes that guarded the temple, to the very end it would appear.

The four jedi and their trooper escort moved through the temple halls before Master Altis spoke up.

The other jedi came to a halt while the troopers spread out to investigate the massive chamber that was apparently the very center of a labyrinth of passageways and tunnels.

"Alright everyone I want to explore this temple. So we'll split up and investigate the tunnels. See where they lead and report what you find every fifteen minutes for the next hour. Once you have reached the one hour mark, or have run out of tunnel to explore, stop what you are doing and turn back. I don't want anyone getting lost. Understood?" Master Altis asked.

Everyone nodded and turned to a tunnel. The two platoons split into seven squads and picked a tunnel. The jedi went with Commander Thire and one of his squads.

half an hour later, the team continued down their passage way.

So far no one had reported anything important.

"I don't like this place. It gives me the creeps," Ahsoka said.

"The place is abandoned Ahsoka. There's nothing here to be afraid of," Callista said.

"It matters not Callista. You should always remain on your guard. I should expect nothing less," Altis said to one of his former pupils.

"Of coarse master," Callista said.

The team then reached a dead end.

"Nothing. Alright you people know the drill. Let's turn back," Thire said, following Altis' earlier instructions.

Ahsoka stood at the dead end for a few seconds before gliding her hand on the wall. She found a pressure point and pressed it. The wall then started to move.

"Everyone come back I found something," Ahsoka shouted to the rest of the team, who came rushing back.

"Nice work Ahsoka," Geith said.

"What's that?" Thire asked pointing into the room, which the clones moved to secure.

Thire was pointing at the one light source in the room.

The dust in the air reflected a crimson red light that glowed red every few seconds before going dark.

The jedi moved deeper into the room to the light source. Every trooper in the room pointed their weapons at the source of the glowing red light.

Altus moved up to the light and used the force to push the floating dust particles out of the way.

The dust parted at his command and revealed something quite unsettling.

The object in the center of the room, which emitted the light, resembled a small hand-held pyramid.

It was a Sith Holocron.

Altis went to pick it up when Geith moved his hand in the way.

"Master wait, it could be dangerous," Eris said.

"Be still Geith. A sith holocron can only be opened by someone with dark side tendencies. Which means we have nothing to be worried about," Altis said, using the force to pull the holocron to him.

He then motioned for a trooper with a backpack over to him. The trooper turned around so that Altis may place the holocron in the backpack.

"You did well young Tano. I believe the order will be most pleased and appreciative of your services today," Altis said.

Ahsoka smiled, blushing slightly.

Altis nodded and turned to the rest of the team.

"Commander, rally your men. Tell them it is time that we withdrew from the temple," Altis said.

Fox saluted and went to his com-link. The rest of the team turned back down the tunnel.

about 15 minutes later, Thire went to Altis.

"Sir. I'm only getting static from three squads. Two of the other squads are back in the main chamber where we split up, and a third is on it's way," He stated to Altis, who looked concerned.

"Keep trying to raise them. In the mean time, we will press on to the main chamber," Altis said.

"But what about our men?" Ahsoka asked.

"We will help them as soon as we get the holocron out of here," Altis said.

A few moments later when they were just outside of the main chamber, static came in over everyone's com-links.

" _General, Commander. Can you hear me_?" One clone asked frantically over the com.

Altis answered first. "What's going on soldier?" he asked the panicking trooper. Blaster fire could be heard in the background, along with screaming.

" _Sir, we've got multiple unknown contacts. They're impossible to kill. They're being led by a hooded figure. They're just tearing through us. AAaahhh, nnnooooooo!_ "

The transmission was cut, silencing the trooper on the other end. Commander Thire tried to get him back just as they entered the chamber to meet up with the rest of the group. They were surprised to see only three squads have made it back, including the one the jedi took with them, out of the seven that entered the temple.

"Corporal, do you copy? Over," Thire shouted into his wrist comm.

"Ms. Tano, I want you to take two men and find out what the hell is going on," Thire ordered Ahsoka.

Ahsoka wasn't in the military anymore, so Thire outranked her.

Ahsoka then started to here something in the tunnels with her head-tails. It sounded like a faint moaning. It started to get louder and louder.

"But Commander-," Ahsoka began to say.

"There's no time for discussion. I have men out there in those tunnels," Thire said.

"But Thire! Listen," Ahsoka said.

Everyone then started to hear the sound Ahsoka was able to hear before anyone else.

The sound got louder and louder. Ahsoka swore that she could here snarling as well.

"What the hell is that?" one Clone asked.

"Where's that coming from Ahsoka?" Geith asked before getting back to back with Callista in a fighting stance.

"I don't know, it's everywhere. Wait. There, over there," Ahsoka said pointing to one of the tunnels.

Multiple figures, wearing sith armor and robes, started lumbering out of the tunnels. They looked like rotting corpses, and their eyes glowed purple.

They snarled and moved towards the 4 jedi and their clone allies in the center of the room.

"They're all around us. They're pouring out of the tunnels," One trooper exclaimed.

One of the purple eyed corpses screeched and sprinted at the Republic group, his dead comrades in tow.

"Weapon's free. Let 'em have it! Thire ordered. The four jedi ignited their lightsabers, while the three clone squads ripped into the approaching horde. The Republic blaster bolts flew into the air, piercing the layer of dust that floated about the temple. The flying blue light reflecting off of the which dust, and into the horde of purple eyed corpses.

They didn't seem to have an effect at first.. Leg and torso hits didn't do anything, but the clones soon learned that head shots seemed to do the trick.

It didn't matter of coarse as the clones were being quickly overrun. Several clones, including the one with the holocron, were tackled to the ground and beaten to death by the undead.

The jedi cut the sprinting corpses apart with their sabers, while placing themselves between the clones and the horde.

"Everyone fall back, now! We'll cover you," Altus ordered.

The clones did as he said and the entire group, save for the jedi, filed out of the chamber and back to the temple entrance, which was still being guarded by a squad of Republic Troopers.

"What the hell's going on in there?" the squad leader demanded.

"Long story, just make sure that only our boys walk out of that temple alive," Thire ordered as the remaining troopers trained their blasters at the entrance, ready to put down anything that shuffled and/or sprinted out of the temple.

Meanwhile, things in the temple were about to take a turn for the worst.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The jedi continued cutting the corpese apart, when all of a sudden, they started to retreat into a crowd, surrounding the jedi.

"What are they doing?" Callisto asked.

"Why'd they stop?" Ahsoka asked.

They looked at Geith, who threw his arms up.

"What are you looking at me for. I don't speak corpse," Geith said.

"Everyone quiet down. Something's not right," Altis said.

"ya' don't say?" Ahsoka asked, sarcastically.

Just then, a hooded figure with two red lightsabers jumped from the ceiling, and between the four jedi.

When the hooded figure hit the ground, he used a shock wave to knock the jedi off balance. Callista hit the ground head first, blacking out. Geith ran over to her in order to see if she was all right.

Ahsoka was pushed to the side and the hooded figure jumped at her to finish her off. That was when Altis jumped in front of the hooded figure, blocking him.

"Get out of here, all of you," Altis ordered.

"But master-," Eris exclaimed.

"Do what I say, I'll hold him off," Altis said. The two of them continued to duel as the horde continued forward.

Ahsoka and Geith, while carrying Callista, ran out of the temple.

The hooded figure plunged his blades into Altis' chest, before finishing him off with a decapitation. The figure then used the force to push the horde back.

Callista woke up in Eris' arms. She could feel her master's life force disappear.

"Master, No," Callista shouted, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Leave him Callista, there's nothing we can do except carry out his final order," Eris said.

Back in the temple the hooded figure continued fighting off the horde.

 _How do I stop these infernal beasts_?

He then felt something. He turned around to a dead clone trooper who was wearing a backpack. The inside glowed red.

The hooded figure looked at it with interest and grabbed the bag with the force. He reached inside to grab the contents, which was a sith holocron.

 _That's what has the horde so worked up. They're mission is to protect the temple and it's secrets. Even in death_.

The figure opened it and the corpses stopped completely.

 _I have an undead army at my disposal. I must, however, finish off those jedi brats_.

He force sprinted down the hall with the corpses running after their new master.

He made it to the door, which was now shut, a blue blade protruding from the doors seems.

Sidious then drew up his fingers and shot lightning from their tips at the door, or rather the saber melting the doors shut.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Ahsoka stuck her temporary blade through the door when the lightning shot into her blade.

She screamed as she was enveloped by the lightning reflecting off of her blade and around her.

She delt with the pain and continued. After a few more seconds, she withdrew the blade from the locked door.

She turned around to see the remaining clones caring for the wounded, securing a landing zone for the gunships, and Callista sobbing into Geith's robe.

They had just lost their master, the only other jedi that knew about their engagement.

On the ride back to the Temple, where the mission would end and she would receive her payment, Ahsoka came to a new conclusion.

 _I don't think I can be apart of the Jedi or the Republic anymore. I have to leave them both behind me. I have to leave my old life behind me. Probably forever_.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Back inside the temple, Sidious stopped firing at the door with his lightning powers.

 _It appears that my quarry was fled the seen. No matter. He found what he came for_.

Sidious turned back to the purple eyed corpses that stood where they were. He then looked down at the holocron in his hands.

I wonder.

Sidious used his powers to tap into the holocron. It disassembled it his hands, the extra parts floating around it.

The Corpses all kneeled in the direction of Sidious, bowing their heads.

He was their new master.

 _I have an army of the living dead at my disposal_.

Sidious knew exactly where to deploy them first.

 _It's time for a prison break_.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Ahsoka went to the Senate Building to speak to Riyo. She had to break the news to her.

She walked down the ornate halls of the senate building to Riyo's office.

When she arrived at the door, she entered it to find Ion Papanoida and Riyo kissing.

They both broke apart when they saw Ahsoka in the room. Riyo shooed Ion away, prompting him to walk out and join the guards.

Ahsoka blushed at the scene that she had interrupted.

"I'm sorry to bother you Riyo, but there's something important that I'd like to get off my chest," Ahsoka said.

"Of coarse Ahsoka. We're friends. You can share anything that you want. Now please, speak away," Riyo said, sitting at her desk.

Ahsoka sat down in a chair across from Riyo's desk.

 _Here goes nothing._

"Riyo, before you gave me this job, I had nothing. I had no family, no home, and pretty much no purpose. And you were able to give some of it back, in a way. And I thank you for that," Ahsoka said to Riyo, who placed her chin in her hands to listen to Ahsoka speak.

"But I think that It's time that I left. Not just this job, but Coruscant to," Ahsoka said.

Riyo was very calm. She just stared at Ahsoka. She then spoke.

"Why do you need to leave?" the blue senator asked.

Ahsoka started to think about the her betrayal several weeks ago, at the hands of Barriss, the order, and the Republic that she fought for. She started to think of her crush, Lux, who had suffered many hardships. Then about her master, and how either of those two people would try to convince her to stay, which she was afraid of.

She started to think of her vision on Mortis.

" _You will never see your future if you remain his student_ ," Her vision, of her future self, had told her.

"I'm afraid that my past will one day be the end of me," Ahsoka told her friend.

Riyo was silent for a few minutes.

"I'll get my captain to take you wherever you need to go," Riyo said before getting up.

She walked over to Ahsoka and gave her a hug.

"Thank you Riyo. For everything," Ahsoka said, a small tear in her eye.

"Anytime Ahsoka," Riyo said.

Hours later, Ahsoka met up with Riyo's captain.

Ahsoka no longer wore her Jedi outfit, or her security uniform. She wore a dark gray top that hugged her beautiful form very well. It also had a diamond cut-out over her chest, giving the casual onlooker an excellent view of her plump orange breasts. She had a matching skirt that went over her tight brown pants. She also had fingerless gauntlets and boots that were decorated with ocean waves.

She was armed with a cortosis knife, which was holstered in her boot.

Ahsoka also placed a maroon colored headdress over her usual Akul-tooth headdress.

The young togrutan traveller threw a travel bag over her shoulders, which was full of her worldly possessions and some credits.

"Hello Ma'am. Where will I be taking you on your voyage?" the captain said with a slight bow.

Ahsoka thought about it for a few moments. She wanted to leave her old life behind. She then thought of the life that she had before the jedi, she she was three years old.

"Shili," Ahsoka said. The captain nodded and went to the ship's cockpit to get the engines fired up.

The ship took of into the night sky.

Ahsoka looked out the window in order to look at the millions of lights that showed that the city was lively. It was getting smaller and smaller as the ship climbed into orbit.

The ship entered the blue tunnel of hyperspace to her cradle world.

 _Goodbye Coruscant. It was nice while it lasted, but Shili awaits_.

But unbeknownst to Ahsoka, her old life was not going to give up on her that easily.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Lux Bonteri paced around in his office at the senate building.

All he could think about the beautiful and brave togrutan woman that had saved his life more times than he could count. The woman that he had secretly admired since the day they met.

Lux thought about her strong personality, her beautiful face, which was full of life. The hourglass shape of her intoxicating body, from her slender legs, her wide hips, her skinny stomach, and all the way up to her round breasts, which were untouched by gravity.

He then thought of the way she blew him off the day before.

 _Oh Ahsoka, what was it that I did wrong. What did I do that could have hurt you_.

Lux then thought of Steela.

 _Perhaps that's the answer_.

He decided that he had to go find her. He exited his office and walked down the halls of the senate building, in order to get to Riyo's office.

Lux knocked on the door.

"Enter," the muffled voice of Riyo said from the other side.

He walked in and saw the pantoran senator doing some paper work.

She looked up to see Lux standing there.

"Senator Bonteri," Riyo calmly exclaimed before putting her work down to speak. "This is an unexpected pleasure. What can I do for you?"

Lux took a deep breath before speaking.

"Senator Chuchi, I wanted to meet with Ahsoka. Do you know where I can find her?" he asked the blue senator.

Riyo stared at him for a few seconds before answering his guestion.

"I'm-, I'm afraid she's no longer here with us. She told me that she had to leave. So I relieved her of her services, and let her on her way," Riyo explained to the now shocked Onderinian.

Lux felt his gut sink at the heart wrenching news. He sighed and rubbed his face into hands, slightly frustrated. He looked back up to speak.

"Do you know where she's going?" Lux asked.

"I'm sorry Lux, but I'm not sure if I should give away that information. She was very clear that she wanted to leave her old life behind. I can't say that I blame her," Riyo said.

"Senator please. I am begging you. Please tell me where Ahsoka went. I need to talk to her. It's urgent," Lux begged, as maturely as possible.

Riyo noticed small tears start to well up in his eyes.

"Give me your best reason why I should," Riyo demanded, crossing her arms over her chest, smashing her plump breasts in the process.

"Because I'm in love with her," Lux flat out said, choking on his words a little bit.

Riyo sat there in stunned silence. She sighed.

"I instructed my captain to take her to a destination of her choosing. I don't know where she wanted to go. But you might be able to find out in the hanger bay's flight recording logs," Riyo said.

"Thank you Riyo. Profusely, thank you. How can I ever repay you?" Lux asked.

"By not making me regret it," Riyo simply said.

Lux understood what she meant. He went out the door and headed for the docking bay, which normally housed the Pantoran shuttle.

When he got there, he walked over to the empty berth to access a terminal. He activated it and looked through the navigational records.

He scrolled down to the most recent entry.

 _Shili. The Togrutan home world. Ahsoka is trying to reconnect with her people. Maybe even her family._

Lux went back to his apartment and packed a couple of bags for the trip.

He then took his speeder to the space port in order to find a transport to Shili.

He found such a ship and ordered a ticket.

Lux then boarded the transport which headed into orbit, before jumping in the direction of Shili.

 _I'm coming Ahsoka. Please don't be angry with me_.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Count Dooku was flown to Coruscant aboard his famed Solar Sailor. It exited hyperspace above the planet's orbit.

The imposing blockade of Republic warships, that were ready to defend the capital from all outside threats, payed his ship no mind, sense it was invisible to radar.

The sail that propelled the ship forward retracted as it entered the atmosphere.

Dooku's droid pilot then flew across the city's mighty skyscrapers. It then flew over the industrialized regions of Coruscant, which housed many of the Planet's factories and power plants.

His destination was a tall building that had been abandoned long ago. Or at least it was believed to be abandoned.

Dooku knew better.

As the Solar Sailor flew towards the "abandoned" building, one of the hatches on the side of the building opened up to allow the Geonosion ship to land.

Once it was on the ground, the cabin depressurized before the hatch retracted and the ramp extended to allow Dooku to depart.

He exited the ship and came face to face with a hooded figure that he knew all to well.

Dooku kneeled before the hooded figure.

"My master," Dooku said.

"Welcome home Lord Tyrannous," Sidious said.

Dooku walked with Sidious around the secret hideout. The halls were lined up with CIS commando droids.

"What is it that you need me here for, my master?" Dooku asked.

Sidious reached into his cloak and pulled out the sith holocron.

Dooku stared at the device with a stoic look of interest.

"There's more," Sidious said as he led Dooku to a large warehouse at the base of the building. The area was overlooked by more commando droids, with jet packs.

On the large open space below them was dark, except for hundreds of small purple lights.

Sidious motioned to one of the droids with his hand.

The droid threw a switch that illuminated the warehouse.

The room was full of walking corpses from the sith temple.

Dooku looked at the warehouse with his famous stoic look, and then back at Sidious with one eyebrow raised higher than the other.

"I take it that this is what you found at the abandoned temple?" Dooku asked.

"Yes. And this controls them," Sidious said holding up the Holocron.

Dooku had one eyebrow higher than the other as he looked at his master with skepticism. "How did you even bring them here?"

"That's...Huh. Captain. How did we bring them here?" Sidious asked a droid commando named B-260.

"Well you've got me," the droid said as he pulled up a holo-map with the location of the temple and the hideout. "By all accounts it doesn't make sense".

"It's irrelevent," Sidious said. "I need you to help me control them for a special mission".

Dooku smiled, knowing exactly what his master was getting at.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

In the Grand Army HQ, Barriss was still meditating in her cell. She still hasn't touched the trays of food the guards were giving her.

She learned that the dark side gave her all that she needed.

 _The food tastes horrible anyway_.

The mirilian dark sider continued meditating when she heard a voice in her head.

" _Barriss Offee_ ," the voice said.

" _Dooku! How are you in my head? what do you want_?" Barris said in her head.

" _That matters not. What does matter is that I can free you from that prison, should you choose to provide us with your services that is_ ," Doou said.

" _Why should I help you_?" Barriss asked.

" _Because you want revenge against the Jedi. And I need your help tracking down a certain jedi that you know all to well, in order to fulfill that vengeance. She is vital to our cause_ ," Dooku said.

Barriss was stunned. She knew exactly who he was talking about. The person she had framed for the temple bombing weeks ago. Someone that she secretly admired.

" _Alright count. You have my attention. When do I get out of here_?" Barriss asked.

 _"Dear child, you must learn patients. Help is coming. You'll know what it is when you see it_ ," Dooku said, cutting off the telekinetic conversation.

Barriss continued her meditation. She started thinking of the jedi that Dooku was talking about.

 _Ahsoka is needed by Dooku. Oh this is going to be delicious_.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **That was chapter 5 folks. chapter 6'll be out very soon.**

 **Also, the admiral trench scene leads into another story of mine called Clone Wars: Republic Commando. Go check it out.**

 **This is Grubkiller, out.**


	6. Chapter 6-reunions and riots

**Have no fear, Grubkiller is here.**

 **hey folks. This is my third chapter. Summary: Prison break, family get together. reunions.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Planet Shili, home world of the Togrutan people_.

Ahsoka had landed hours ago. She walked around looking for a kiosk.

She found one and headed straight for it. She punched in a few words in order to get some information on her family.

The young togrutan found what she was looking for: The location of her family.

The Tano family lived in a small village a few miles away.

She hailed a speeder to take her to her destination.

The speeder landed just outside the village about a half hour later.

Ahsoka jumped out of the speeder, grabbed her belongings, and payed the driver.

The speeder took off back to the city.

Ahsoka looked ahead at the Togrutan people in the village.

 _My people_.

Ahsoka looked around and then decided to walk into the village.

 _Here goes nothing_.

She walked up to the first person she saw.

"Pardon me sir, but can you help me with something?" Ahsoka asked.

The old man turned around, leaning on a cane.

"Why of coarse deary. What can I help you with?" The man asked.

"I'm looking for my family. They might live in this village," Ahsoka explained.

"What's your name?" The man asked.

"Ahsoka Tano," she said.

"Oh. You're that Jedi that was taken to that fancy temple a long time ago," The man said, his eye brows shooting up to his forehead.

"That's right," Ahsoka said smiling.

"I know where your family lives. They go shopping at my son's food cart every couple of days. Come with me," the man said, hobbling on his cane.

Ahsoka followed.

A few moments later, the two of them arrived at a fairly large house in the middle of the village. Ahsoka's people had a tribal history. Togrutan people banded together in tribes and stuck together. That was, in the present day, more common in the rural areas of the planet. But in the city, her people lived life like anyone across the galaxy would. But whether they were in the city or the countryside, togrutans were hunters. Ahsoka was no exception. Togrutans hunt the wild Akul and wove their teeth into a headdress and wear it as a badge of honor. Ahsoka had her teeth when she was three after she killed her first Akul. It's what led people to believe that she was gifted.

"That's where they live," the old man said.

"I can't thank you enough sir," Ahsoka said.

"Don't mention it. Now I hope to see you around sometime, alright deary?" The man asked.

"Of coarse, anytime," Ahsoka said. She waved to the old man, who turned around, and hobbled back to the edge of the village.

Ahsoka walked up to the door and placed her suitcase and bag next to her on the front porch. She breathed in heavily.

 _Here goes nothing_.

Ahsoka placed her knuckled hand on the door and knocked on it lightly.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the door opened. It was answered by a young teenage girl, who was shorter than Ahsoka.

"Can I help you?" the girl asked Ahsoka through the half open door.

"Hello. My name is Ahsoka Tano," she said.

The girl looked at her for a few seconds in stunned silence.

"One second," the girl said, before closing the door.

Ahsoka stood there for a few seconds and then heard something through the door with her Lekku.

" _Mom, Dad. There is a women at the door claiming to be related to us_ ," the girl yelled out.

Ahsoka was surprised.

 _I think I'm in the right place_.

She heard foot steps thundering through the door. The thuds grew louder as they got closer to the door.

The door opened to reveal an adult male togrutan. He looked like he had run twenty miles after hearing the news.

"Ahsoka?!" the man asked.

Ahsoka was stunned into silence. Then she cracked a small smile. The man had his answer.

He lunged forward to give her a big hug. Ahsoka was still nervous. She didn't know what to do.

She then saw another togrutan run to the door frame, an adult woman.

She placed her hands over her heart.

"I know those face marking from anywhere," she said before joining the man in a group hug.

"UUhhhh," Ahsoka sounded out, still not able to say anything.

The two adults let go of the confused teen and looked at her.

"Please excuse our excitement young one. But it has been years since we've seen our little girl go off to be a jedi," the adult male said.

"What!?" Ahsoka exclaimed.

"Welcome home, Little Soka," the adult woman said.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Ahsoka sat on a couch in the living room of what was evidently her home before the jedi temple.

A pot of tea sat on the table. The woman from earlier, who was apparently Ahsoka's mother, Raana, poured the tea into a small cup for Ahsoka.

"Thank you," Ahsoka said before taking a sip from her cup.

"It's good to finally see you Ahsoka. We never thought that we would see you again, after that Kel Dorin took you to the temple," Raana said.

"You mean Master Plo? Yeah, he's the one who brought me to the temple after stopping that bounty hunter all those years ago. He was like a grandfather to me," Ahsoka said.

"We were truly blessed to have such a gifted daughter in you Ahsoka. We were all very proud of you," Raana said.

Raana's comment made Ahsoka blush.

Ashoka's father, Jorman, stood up from the seat across from Ahsoka to walk towards the staircase. There was a wall that obscured the staircase.

She saw her father talking to someone that she couldn't see.

" _Don't be shy. Come out and meet your big sister_ ," Jorman said.

As he walked back over, two smaller togrutan children, a young girl and an even younger boy slowly walked out.

The girl was the one that opened the door to Ahsoka earlier. She looked like she was no older that ten. The smaller boy dragged a small stuffed animal behind him.

They were the cutest little things Ahsoka had ever seen, and they were her younger siblings.

"Aww, they're so adorable," Ahsoka whispered to her mother.

Jorham had his hands on the shoulder of each child.

"Ahsoka, meet your little sister, Ashla, and your little brother, Tuktee," Jorman said.

Ahsoka waved to the two kids. "Hello," she said.

"Say hello children," Jorman said.

Ashla waved hello and creeped up to Ahsoka. Tuktee, on the other hand, hid behind his daddy's leg.

"So you're my big sister?" Ashla asked.

"Yup," Ahsoka confirmed.

"Does that mean that I'm not the oldest one anymore?" Ashla asked.

Ahsoka laughed. "I'm afraid so".

Ashla smiled a little and went to give Ahsoka a hug. Ahsoka smiled back and welcomed the hug. She then turned to the little boy, who peaked at her around Jorman's leg.

"What about you little guy?" Ahsoka asked. Her little brother stayed behind his father and nodded his head back and forth.

"He's a little shy. Come Tuktee. Let's go prepare dinner with your nanna," Raana said, taking the boy's hand.

Ahsoka looked at Jorman.

"I have grandparents to?" She asked.

"Yes, your mother's parents. Your Nanna, Bela, is cooking dinner, and your grandfather, Kalatosh, is sleeping. You can meet them at dinner time. In the meantime, Ashla and I will settle you into one of the guest rooms, for know," Jorman said.

They led Ahsoka to the upstairs guest room.

"Your room is next to mine," Ashla said.

"Oh really? Do you plan on making a visit?" Ahsoka asked her little sister.

"Nnnoooooo," Ashla said slowly, before giving a small giggle.

Ahsoka smiled back.

They made it to the room.

They helped Ahsoka settle in.

"Dinner is in one hour. We'll call you down then. For now, please settle in," Jorman said.

Ashla and Jorman left Ahsoka alone.

She laid down on the bed and sunk into it. It was a nice change from the temple and her apartment on Coruscant.

Ahsoka then contemplated what had happened today.

 _I found my family. Things are actually looking up for a change_.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant, the Works, secret hide out of Darth Sidious_.

It was time.

Sidious and his apprentice, Dooku, stood over the table, which had the holocron atop it.

They concentrated on the holocron with the force. Purple energy and lightning emitted from their fingertips.

The energy made contact with the holocron.

The two sith lords concentrated their energy on the red pyramid between them.

After a few minutes, Sidious felt his mind scatter across hundreds of undead corpses that were at his command.

"What now master?" Dooku asked.

"Now? It's time to help our new friend," Sidious said as the hundreds of corpses he controlled marched out of the warehouse and into the medium separatist transports that were ready to haul their undead cargo to their target: Grand Army HQ.

* * *

 _Grand Army HQ, Coruscant_.

In the center of the Republic's war effort against the Separatist Alliance, it was business as usual.

Republic warships and transports lifted from the ground to carry fresh troopers to the front lines of the war in the outer rim.

Grand Army officers, such as Admiral Tarkin, did their jobs in the Command Center, overseeing the Republic's war effort.

Tarkin looked out the window of the CIC. He has recently been given the future position of Military Governor of the Outer Rim.

The senate voted to temporarily occupy Separatist space after the war. Tarkin was going to lead the occupation, as decreed by his old friend, Chancellor Palpatine.

Of coarse, the Republic had to actually win the war in order for Tarkin to assume that position, not to mention the fact that he had to survive said war. Until then, it was business as usual.

A Clone trooper ran up to him with a message.

He saluted the Admiral before giving him the news.

"What is it trooper?" Tarkin asked.

"Sir, our fighter patrols have spotted three unmarked transports entering our airspace," the trooper stated.

"Did you signal them?" Tarkin asked.

"Yes sir, but they aren't responding. They just keep flying in the same direction," the clone explained.

Tarkin turned to the flight control officer.

"Scramble our fighters. Destroy those transports if they do not turn around. And contact Commander Fox. Tell him to put the base on high alert." Tarkin ordered.

The officer nodded and turned back to his station.

"Sir, our batteries are loaded and ready to fire on your command. Our fighters are also circling the transports," another officer stated.

"Did they get a response?" Tarkin asked.

"No sir," the officer stated.

Tarkin turned to the gunnery control station.

"You may fire when ready," Tarkin ordered.

The clone turned back to his station and sent an order to the gun towers.

 _"Pick your targets and fire at will", the order read._

* * *

Commander Fox was with his men on the base's perimeter.

All around him, clone troopers scrambled to take a defensive posture in the wake of this new situation.

As the three transports closed in, the base's gun towers cut loose with everything they had.

Blue lasers speared through the night skies towards their prey.

These cannons were meant for use against heavily armored CIS warships. They made short work of the lightly armored cargo transports.

The blue lights made contact with the three ships and fiery flowers began to blossom along their dark gray hulls.

The ships began to shed themselves of debris with every hit, like a snake shedding its skin with age.

For several minutes, the corvettes took on the punishing barrage, but they continued forward at full speed.

The 3 ships engines began to die out as they continued to be battered by the powerful Republic artillery.

Their defying rush, though commendable, was in vain as they began to lose altitude and crash into the area outside of the perimeter.

"Incoming. Find cover," Fox yelled out to his men.

Clone troopers ran for cover as the three ships crashed into the area in front of the base with a violent screech, as their metal hulls scraped across the metal ground.

They all came to a stop.

The clones moved forward and made a perimeter around the three wrecks.

Every Clone trained his weapon onto the ships in front of them.

Nothing happened.

At least, not at first.

Then, all of a sudden, the hatches opened up.

What came next was horrifying.

Loud screeches pierced the air around the clones as the hatches opened.

Next came the ships deadly cargo. An army of monsters with glowing purple eyes. They sprinted towards the dumbstruck clones, ready for the slaughter.

"Weapons free," Fox ordered. Every trooper fired his weapon into the horde of screeching and sprinting monsters.

The night sky lit up blue as Republic blaster fire filled the space between the Clones and their sprinting targets.

Blaster fire normally worked on Republic targets. But their targets don't usually sprint after being fit with Republic plasma.

The Clones shot off limbs and put holes into the monsters. But they kept moving.

The sprinting, purple eyed monsters continued sprinting towards the Clones, who continued firing desperately into the horde.

When the monsters got too close, the clones started to inch away slowly, still firing their weapons.

"Everyone fall back right now," Fox ordered his men.

The troopers of the Coruscant Guard turned directly back and ran as fast as they could.

Some troopers were not fast enough, and were overwhelmed as the corpses jumped onto their backs, tackling them to the ground.

Any clone that was caught in the sprinting wave of corpses was pummeled to death or torn apart, their bloody limbs being thrown away.

Many of the troopers, over half of them, were not fast enough as they disappeared under the never ending tidal wave of the undead.

"What the hell are these damn things?" one trooper, loudmouth, shouted as he vaulted over a barrier.

"What the hell is even happening?" another trooper, trapper, yelled at his friend as he vaulted over the same barrier with his comrade.

"Less yappin', more blastin'," their sergeant, gunner, ordered the two shinies.

The two troopers, along with everyone else behind the barrier, did the same thing that gunner ordered and fired at the corpses.

They kept firing and firing until they were forced to load fresh ammo packs into their rifles.

Some clones, that were obviously heavy weapons specialists, brought mortars and heavy repeating turrets to the fight.

The mortar crews loaded their weapons with the necessary projectiles and fired their ordinance at the creatures. Clusters of creatures were taken out.

The turret operators fired repeatedly into the horde, but to no avail. No matter where the troopers fired, the arms, legs, torso, shoulders, the undead kept running.

Some troopers, including commander Fox, eventually found out that head shots were the answer.

Fox fired his dual blasters into the horde and speared one creature in the head. The corpse slumped to the ground, its purple glowing eyes fading out.

It was dead.

Despite this new knowledge on killing zombies, the barriers were still being overrun.

The zombies sprinted and jumped over the barriers and tackled any clone that they could get their rotting claws on.

Clones began to abandon their positions, and heavy weapons operators just left their equipment and ran in the opposite direction.

"Everyone, fall back inside the base," Fox ordered as he continued firing.

The remaining troopers, which made up about 1/5 of the troopers that formed the perimeter earlier, turned and ran into the fortress of the GAR HQ.

In the chaos of the undead routing the Grand Army's finest, no one noticed the teams of CIS commando droids leaving the wreckage that brought the undead to the base in the first place.

The highly advanced droids moved off to the side of the base, stepping over the mangled bodies of Clones and zombies alike.

They made it to the wall.

The droid captain turned to his squad and spoke in his robotic monotone voice.

"Use the laser cutters, get us past this wall," the black droid with gold color accents, which marked his rank, ordered his subordinates.

"Roger Roger," the rest of the droids answered.

Two droids stepped forward and used their cutters to burn a circle into the heavy durasteel wall.

When they were finished, the droids pushed the burned section until the metal piece fell, leaving a perfect circle cutout in side of the base.

The droids stepped in and put the metal slab back into the wall to make it look like they were never there.

They then moved forward with the mission.

The droid captain was carrying a small box on his back.

Inside was a metallic circle, with a metallic cylinder.

It was meant for a very special person that Dooku wanted to liberate from prison.

* * *

 _Coruscant, Grand Army Headquarters, Prison wing_.

Barriss Offee sat in her cell.

She was still meditating.

She was also aware of the situation outside, or rather that there was a situation outside.

As Barriss sat in her cell, an alarm blared throughout the base.

A squad of Clones rushed passed her cell to their action stations.

Several minutes later, she heard blaster rifles discharging at the end of the hall.

The four clones standing guard outside her cell looked at the end of the hall to something that alarmed them, but that Barriss couldn't see.

"Droids, sound the alarm," one clone ordered.

Just as he ordered this, the clone was hit by a blaster bolt. He screamed and slumped to the ground dead.

One clone ran to sound the alarm. He was shot in the back and fell on his frontside, dead.

The remaining two clones put up a fight.

"I got one, I got one," a clone yelled.

"Great kid. Don't get-," the clone started to say before the excited shinie was speared in the face by a blaster bolt.

"...Cocky," the clone finished. He growled and fired his blaster at an unseen target.

"Suck laser clanker scum," the clone shouted.

Barriss got off the ground and walked to the orange shield between her and the clone, who was still fighting to the bitter end.

She drew out her hand for the key card, off of a dead clone, that would unlock the cell.

She put it in the keyhole and deactivated the shield.

The last clone turned around horrified. She used the force to summon a force push that sent him into the opposite cell door, knocking his helmet off.

Barriss held the clone to the wall, the droids had ceased fire to march to her position.

She got up in the clones face, the features of Jango Fett very well defined.

The mirilian convict leaned against the trooper, her breasts pushed up against his armored torso.

"Sorry trooper, but you are relieved of duty," Barriss said before kissing the trooper on the cheek.

She then used the force to slowly crush the trooper's windpipe. He gasped for air, his eyes rolling to the back of his head before his windpipe was finally crushed like a soda can.

The trooper fell to the ground dead.

Barriss stretched her arms over her head and pressed her chest out, her nipples showing through the tight orange prison jumpsuit that she was forced to wear.

She was free.

Barriss turned to the remaining droids and looked at the one, whom she assumed was the leader.

"You are my rescue I take it?" Barrios asked

"Yes mistress. And someone would like to speak with you," the droid captain said as he produced a small holo-projector. A blue, holographic version of Count Dooku materialized in the droid's hand.

Barriss bowed to the holographic count.

"Count Dooku. This is a pleasant surprise. But why are you not here?" Barrios asked.

"Patience my new apprentice. We will meet in due time, but for now I have an important mission for you," Dooku stated.

"Already. My my, you are persistent," Barriss said to the unamused count.

"To complete the mission you will need a weapon," The count said before his small holo figure turned to the droid captain. "Captain, if you would please".

"Roger Roger," the droid said as he reached for the small box on his back.

He handed it to the mirilian convict, who accepted it.

She opened it and saw a metallic cylinder with a circle hand guard surrounding it.

"A lightsaber?" Barriss asked.

"Consider it a gift. Now go and free the separatist leaders from that prison and take them to these co-ordinates. We will meet there. Do not fail me on your first assignment," the count said before his holographic figure disappeared into the droids holo-projector.

She activated the saber. It was a double blade. She twirled it around in her hand. She then found the switch to make the two blades spin around like a propellor.

"This will do nicely. Captain, you and your droids seem to be good at breaking people out of prison. It's time to do it again," Barriss said as she sprinted down the prison corridor.

"Roger Roger," the captain said before motioning his droids to follow.

The droid squad moved down the hall to follow Dooku's assassin.

The mirilian assassin charged down the corridor and cut her way through any clone that got in her way.

At the prison command center, the clone officer in charge looked over the soldier of the trooper at the surveillance system. He looked at the screen to the camera in the prison. He saw One of his prisoners and a squad of droids heading their way.

He slamed his hand on a button.

"Security team to the prison blocks. Barriss Offee is free. She is armed and heading our way," the officer said into the PA system.

Moments later, a squad of Clone troopers wearing red armor moved into the prison.

The sergeant looked at the officer in charge.

"Where is she?" the sergeant asked.

"She'll be coming from down that corridor," the officer said.

Every trooper trained their rifles on the corridor.

They saw nothing so far.

Suddenly, behind the troopers, a vent fell from the ceiling.

Barriss dropped out of the ventilation system behind the troopers, who were still facing the wrong way.

"Ah stang!" One trooper exclaimed as everyone tried to turn around and fire on Barriss.

Barriss was to quick as she got up close to the clones and used her new blade, spun it like a propellor, and chopped the screaming clones up into armored dices of charred meat.

The commando droid came down the hall.

They breached the prison cell control station and killed everyone inside. The prison was clear of every clone that was inside this part of the HQ building.

One droid trooper found and deactivated the cells of three important CIS leaders: Wat Tambor, Poggle the Lesser, and General Loathsome.

The droids fanned out and secured the sep leaders.

The sep leaders were escorted to the hub of the prison block.

"All right everyone. We're getting out of here. Follow me to the hanger bay," Barriss ordered.

The droids formed up around the sep leaders behind Barriss as she moved to the hanger bay.

The Clones were still focused on the corpses that have been forcing their way into the base for about an hour now, so there weren't many clones between the CIS strike force and the hanger bay.

The hanger door was unguarded. But there was still people inside.

"Droids!" One unarmed clone said before he was gunned down by a droid.

The droids went to work on the hanger bay's occupants, but Barriss was the quickest as she charged and cut her way through any clone that tried to stop her.

Despite their training, strength, cunning, and skill in battle, they were no match for a jedi, let alone a sith assassin.

The hanger was secure.

Barriss and the CIS droids took the sep leaders to a nearby shuttle.

"Everyone on board," Barriss ordered.

The captain and one of his remaining subordinates took the shuttle controls and lifted off.

"Take us to Serenno," Barriss ordered the droids, referring to the co-ordinates that Dooku provided.

The shuttle blasted out of the hanger and into the night sky.

They were in the clear.

* * *

The undead were in disarray. They had managed to get inside the base.

But the Clones knew how to kill them now, and for some reason, they weren't acting like a hive mind anymore.

They were still a massive horde, which prompted the Republic to call in air support.

Seven Republic Y-wing bombers, flying in a wedged formation pierced into the night sky.

the red lights from their engines were the only thing that gave them away.

They flew over the horde and dropped their payload.

They were carpet-bombing the area in a flight path that was parallel to the front of the base.

Once the bombers were down dropping their ordinance, they flew back to base.

The bombs crashed into the surface and wiped out anything that was in the blast radius.

It then started to rain heavily. Water began to fall from the heavens and wash over the mess that was in front of the base.

Commander Thire and several other officers, led out platoons of men, and marched out into the stormy night in order to secure the area. They were all armed with heavy DC-15a rifles with laser bayonets activated underneath the rifle barrels.

Lightning strikes split through the clouds, the purple flashing lights shining off of the Clone's wet armor.

They fanned out and scanned the area, looking for anything that hadn't stayed dead yet.

Some troopers did in fact find some screechers that had managed to escape the bombing.

"Let 'em have it," one trooper, Thire, called out.

His men, Jek, Rys, Doc, Nash, Boomer, and Sharpshot, found their targets and killed several screechers.

Nash walked up to a screecher that he just killed and prodded it with his bayonet.

"Not so tough now are you, deadman?" the trooper said as he moved on.

"Alright everyone, keep checking the dead ones. The clean up crews'll be here soon," Thire said to his men just as several Gunships circled overhead.

They flew in circles over the area, firing on anything that looked like a screecher, dead or alive. Some of them landed, dropping off several squads of Clone Troopers, who checked the wreckages that brought the screechers in the first place.

For the most part, any surviving screecher was usually to damaged to move. Some were missing limbs, their bones exposed under their rotting flesh, or even half their faces gone.

Most of them were on the ground, crawling away almost pathetically.

Clone Troopers walked up to every corpse, kicking them with their boots to check for vitals, and them sticking them in the face with their bayonets.

Admiral Tarkin and Marshal Commander Fox both walked out of the base to inspect the mop up operations.

Tarkin was outfitted with some light pieces of Clone armor over his uniform for extra protection.

"Thire, report. What's the situation?" Fox ordered.

"Sir, we're just mopping up now. And we're checking the wreckage that brought the screechers here," Thire explained.

"Screechers?" Tarkin asked curiously, with one eye brow raised higher than the other.

"That's what the boys started calling them, because they scream really loudly before charging," Fox explained to Tarkin, who nodded in understanding.

"I see. Did they find anything in the ship's data logs?" The admiral asked.

"No sir. But we did find a separatist manifest. There were commando droids onboard," Thire said.

One screecher stirred beneath a pile of corpses. It broke free of the prison made up of its fallen comrades and charged at the group.

Everyone looked when suddenly, a blue laser bolt materialized out nowhere and struck the screecher dead in the eyes.

The troopers turned around to see Tarkin's smoking blaster pointed in the direction of the now dead corpse.

"Search the base. Find those droids," Tarkin ordered.

Then, all of a sudden, a shuttle's engines roared as it flew over the group and made for orbit. It was an unauthorized take off.

"I think we just found them," Thire said.

"Sir. I'm getting a message from Chancellor Palpatine," Fox stated, showing everyone his holo-projector. He pressed a button, and a small blue holographic version of Palpatine arose from Fox's hand.

"Supreme Chancellor, the situation is under control. I was just about to order the blockade to stop an escaping separatist incursion," Tarkin said.

"No," the Chancellor said to the surprise of everyone. "I want you to secure the Grand Army's Headquarters. We cannot allow the center of our War effort to be compromised".

"But what about the CIS incursion. We have reports of fighting in the Prison blocks. They could have broken the CIS leaders out of prison," Tarkin explained.

"No matter. Securing our most valuable base is more important. If the CIS leaders did break out, then they will be punished in due time. We are pushing deeper into the outer rim everyday. They will have no place to hide very soon. Now carry on," Palpatine ordered.

Tarkin and the clones looked at each other confused.

"As you wish, your excellency," Tarkin said before Fox turned off the holo-projector.

The clones continued their work, locking down the base. Meanwhile, high in orbit, the CIS strike force was making it's get away.

* * *

 _Stolen Nu-class shuttle, Coruscant orbit, near the Republic blockade_.

Barriss looked out the viewport of the shuttle's cockpit, behind the droids that were piloting the ship.

The sep leaders were in back, enjoying their newfound freedom.

"Mistress. The blockade does not appear to be taking defensive action. We must've flown away without alerting the GAR," the captain said.

"Good. These fools will someday learn that that was a major mistake," Barriss said as the shuttle flew past the Republic warships that gracefully patrolled the orbit of the Republic capital.

The ship entered hyperspace, en route to Serenno, without any scrutiny from the Republic Navy.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Shili, Tano family home, location of Ahsoka Tano_.

Back on Shili, Ahsoka was getting acquainted with her family, whom she hadn't seen, or even known, since she was three.

Ahsoka sat at the end of the table in the dining room. Before her, sat her family.

Her parents, Jorman and Raana, sat on either side of her. Little Ashla, sat with an even smaller Tuktee, who was still shy around Ahsoka.

Ahsoka's nanna, Bella, was cooking dinner in the kitchen. Her grandfather, Kalatosh, sat on the other end of the table with his grandchildren.

When dinner was placed on the table, nanna Bella sat at the table.

"It's good to see that someone else'll be enjoying my cooking," Bella said in Ahsoka's direction.

Everyone chuckled, except the kids, who were playing with their stuffed animals near their grandfather.

"So deary. Are you enjoying my food?" Bella asked her eldest grandchild.

"It's really good," Ahsoka said, putting another forkful of fried akul into her mouth, a delicacy on Shili.

"It's a family recipe. Your nanna taught me and I'm going to teach you and Ashla," Raana said to her daughter.

"Yippie!" Ashla said while clapping. Everyone laughed.

It has been a while since Ahsoka was able to have some quality food, and she wouldn't mind being able to make good food herself. Normal life with her family was turning out to be a blessed luxury.

"It's been a while since I've had good food like this," Ahsoka said.

"No good food? My dear, what do they feed you on coruscant?" Bella asked.

"Mostly what they fed me at the temple, which was ok. But on the frontline, government issued ration packs," Ahsoka said.

"Well that's just terrible. But don't worry little 'Soka. Give Nanna a freshly dead animal and some tree bark, and she'll have a feast ready for you in no time," Jorman said, placing his hand on Ahsoka's shoulder and giving it a little shake.

Ahsoka smiled at her father.

"So, ya go hunting little girl?" Kalatosh asked his granddaughter.

"Bad guys or animals?" Ahsoka asked. Ashla giggled, and Tuktee cracked a little smile.

 _He may warm up to me yet_.

"The one that keeps us fed," Ahsoka's grandfather said.

Ahsoka cracked a smile.

"Well, I haven't hunted in a long time," Ahsoka said. "I'm not sure if the Jedi would've approved".

"Well that just will not due. As a member of this _togrutan_ family, it is a tradition to kill something, cook it, and eat it. Me and your father are going hunting tomorrow, and Bella's going to teach you how to make it taste good," Kalatosh said.

Ahsoka actually liked the sound of that.

"Yes sir," Ahsoka said as she saluted her grandfather.

Everyone laughed.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the front door.

"Jorman, can you go get that?" Raana asked.

"All right hun," Jorman said as he got up and walked out of the dining room towards the front door.

Not thinking that it was important, everyone carried on with dinner and conversation.

Jordan came back to the dining room.

"Ahsoka, there's some outsider boy here. He says he knows you," Jorman said. Ahsoka froze. Everyone stared in interest.

"Oooohhh, does Ahsoka have a boyfriend?" Ashla asked teasingly.

"Not in this lifetime. I'm gonna tell him to leave," Jorman said about to turn back towards the front door.

"Jorman-," Raana started to say. Ahsoka got up and used both of her arms to grab onto one of Jorman's.

"Daddy, wait. Let me see who it is, and I'll talk to him first," Ahsoka said.

Jorman looked back.

"Fine. But I'm going going with you," Jorman said, not wanting some strange boy speaking to his daughter.

Ahsoka walked to the front door. She opened it and was surprised to see someone from the life that she tried, and evidently failed, to leave behind.

"Lux?" Ahsoka asked, completely shocked, to the boy that was her crush for a while now.

"Hello Ahsoka. It... It's good to see you again," Lux said.

A still shocked Ahsoka was just staring at Lux when her father spoke up.

"What do you want here outsider?" Ahsoka's father asked, the venom very evident in his voice.

"Daddy, why don't you let me handle this," Ahsoka said to her suspicious father.

He nodded and turned to walk back to the dining room.

Ahsoka took Lux by his hand and led him outside. She closed the door behind them.

They walked to the side of the house.

As they walked, Lux looked down at Ahsoka's body. Every part of her body was...intoxicating. As she walked, her wide hips swayed gently to the sides. Lux was able to see her butt cheeks moved up and down through her tight pants. He wasn't in front of her. If he was, he would've been able to her breasts bouncing up and down with her movements. Her D-cup breasts looked like they were about to explode out of the diamond cutout over her chest, which was apart of her tight top.

They made it to the side of the house.

It was nighttime. The nocturnal bugs were making their sounds, and the village people were still lively.

They both came to a stop.

Ahsoka turned around and faced her old friend, and crush.

"Lux what are you doing here? How did you find me?" Ahsoka asked.

"Ahsoka, I came to see you. I...I needed to see you," Lux said.

Ahsoka looked at Lux. Her heart fluttered when he said that, but she was still confused whenever she was around someone from her old life. Especially around Lux. She hadn't seen him since Onderon.

 _The day that Lux fell for another girl. The day Ahsoka failed to save that girl as she plunged to her death_.

She was relieved that Lux wasn't mad at her, and that he obviously still had feelings for her.

"But how did you find me? I didn't tell anyone that..." Ahsoka said right when the truth hit her. "Senator Chuchi told you didn't she?"

Lux sat there in silence. "Yes. I had to see you".

"Why?" Ahsoka said, pressing Lux into answering her question.

Lux took a deep breath.

 _No turning back now_.

"Ahsoka, you are one of my closest friends. I have trusted you ever since Carlac and Onderon. You've rescued me more times then I can count," Lux said.

Ahsoka looked at Lux. She hung one arm down sheepishly, while holding it with the other arm, which she crossed over her chest, smashing her large breasts against herself. Lux couldn't help but sneak a peak at Ahsoka's orange melons when she wasn't noticing.

 _I swear that I can see her nipples through her tight top_.

 _Eyes up Bonteri, eyes up,_ he mentally shouted to himself, trying to banish his perverted thoughts from his mind.

"I needed to come see you. So I asked Chuchi where you were. It took some effort, but I managed to convince her to tell me where you were going," Lux explained.

"What did you tell her that would possess her to rat me out?" Ahsoka asked.

Lux took another deep breath.

 _This is it_.

"I...told her...that...I...had-," Lux said.

"Can you spit it out?" Ahsoka demanded.

"I love you!" Lux blurted out.

Ahsoka's mouth hung open and her eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets.

She turned around, her back facing Lux. She was blushing heavily.

"You...love me?" Ahsoka asked, still sheepishly holding her arm.

"Yes Ahsoka. I do," Lux said.

"But what about Steela?" Ahsoka asked. "I thought you liked her more. And what about how I couldn't save her. I thought that you'd be upset".

Lux felt a lump form in his throat.

 _I knew it. I broke her heart_.

"Ahsoka. I thought that you wouldn't love me back. I thought that you couldn't because you were a Jedi. I know that I broke your heart, and I'm here to make up for it. And I was never angry with you about Steela's death. We all knew that you did your best. I'm sorry for the way I've made you feel. I hope that you can forgive me," Lux said as his eyes began to well up.

Ahsoka turned back around at Lux after he was done pouring his heart out on the ground.

"Lux, the truth is...I have feelings for you to," Ahsoka said.

 _Yahoo_! Lux thought to himself. _She actually likes me back_.

Lux's eyes shot open upon hearing her confession, a tear streaming down his cheek. "You do?"

"But I don't know if it'll work. I tried to leave my old life behind, because I was afraid that it would be the death of me. But, I guess some things are hard to let go of," Ahsoka said.

"What do you mean?" Lux asked.

"I'm saying that I need time to think. Can you offer me that curtesy Lux," Ahsoka asked.

Lux stared into Ahsoka's crystal blue eyes for a few heartbeats and breathed deeply.

"After saving my life about four or five times, anything for you Ahsoka," Lux answered.

Ahsoka walked up to Lux and kissed him on the cheek. She blushed heavily, as did Lux.

"Thank you for understanding," Ahsoka said before walking away. As she did, Lux looked at Ahsoka's hour glass figure.

She stopped, which forced Lux to snap his attention to Ahsoka, above her shoulders, not at her tight clothing, or her round butt cheeks, or her skinny torso, or her large gravity defying- _STOP_!

"I'll ask my parents if you can stay for a couple of days. And be careful around my father. I return for one day after 14 years and he's already keeping boys away from me," Ahsoka said while looking over her shoulder.

Lux smiled.

Ahsoka smiled back over her shoulder before walking back into the house.

Lux was left alone with his thoughts.

 _Well, at least I have a chance with her. I just need to give her space. Maybe I'll flirt with her when the opportunity presents itself, but most importantly, I cannot step out of line. Especially in front of her father_.

The thought of being with Ahsoka sent tingles up his spine, but the thought of her father's wrath sent chills to every other part of his body.

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 **That's chapter 3 folks. Sorry it took so long, i'm also working on two other stories. I hope you enjoy, and please be sure to review, follow, favorite, or whatever floats your root beer.**

 **This is Grubkiller, signing out.**


	7. Chapter 7-Cold proposition

**Have no fear, Grubkiller is here.**

 **Hey folks, this is part 7 of my clone wars story 'Fall of the Republic'.**

 **And for God's sake, when you're done, will someone say something in the review section? _I don't ask much of you people!_**

 **My ranting aside...please enjoy.**

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" _Do not fail me on your first assignment. We have much to discuss._ "-Count Dooku giving his new assassin, Barriss Offee, her first mission.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Nu-class shuttle, Belderone system, CIS fortress world_.

The Nu-class shuttle that was stolen by Barriss Offee and her droid rescuers dropped out of hyperspace between the planet Belderone and its moon.

A massive Separatist fleet was blockading the planet. The dark gray hulls of the bug like Confederate warships stood by, ready to fight off any potential Republic invasion. Belderone was actually a separatist core world, one of the planets that seceded from the Republic with Dooku's movement in the Raxus system. It was now, proudly, a separatist fortress world.

Over the past few weeks, despite some of the Confederacy's recent victories and offensives inside the Core, the separatists have suffered a string of defeats closer to home in the mid and inner rims. Ever since then, the CIS leadership've been terrified that the Republic would soon start pushing deeper into the outer rim, where most CIS worlds were located. Since then, the CIS have been digging in for a serious fight, preparing for what could happen. They had to protect their industrial and core worlds if they wanted to survive.

Suddenly, the shuttle's com-terminal went off. The high pitched robotic voice of a battle droid spoke.

" _Attention Republic shuttle, you have entered territory that belongs to the Separatist Alliance. You will halt your shuttle and...-, What? Yes I know that they're an enemy craft. No I can't just shoot them. It's not proper protocol. Suppose we can capture the shuttle and interrogate the people on board,_ " The droid was having a conversation with one his equally moronic comrades. He didn't seem to realize that he was being heard by the CIS crew aboard the captured shuttle.

One of the commando droids piloting the ship slapped his forehead with his hand in frustration.

"Oh enough of this insane nonsense," Barriss exclaimed as she stabbed the button on the console. "Separatist warships, do not shoot. This shuttle belongs to a CIS strike force that has just escaped from Coruscant".

" _Oh, uuuuuuhm. Stand by so that we can verify your story,_ " the droid said.

For a moment nothing happened. Suddenly the voice of the droid came back.

" _Shuttle craft, you are clear to proceed. Head for the hanger bay of the Invisible Hand,_ " the droid said.

"Roger roger," droid captain B-260 said as he and the other droid piloting the ship gently brought it in to dock with the separatist flagship. The flagship, _Invisible hand_ , was that of General Grievous, the supreme commander of the CIS armed forces. It was a 2.1 kilometer fortress of turbo lasers and durasteel. The shuttle gently sailed into the hanger, before it touched down on the deck with a thud. Count Dooku was there to greet them.

Barriss walked off the ship with the separatist leaders. Poggle flapped his wings as he floated off of the ground and walked with the sep leaders.

(It's about time you rescued us)," Poggle said, pointing an insect finger at the count.

"I agree. What- _robotic suit whine_ -took you so long count. Why did you leave us to rot?" What Tambor said as he turned a nod on his suit.

"Gentlemen, I assure you that we did everything in our power to bring you here. Now I suggest that you be grateful that you are free. Now go join the rest of the War councilors in your inner sanctum," Dooku said, referring to the structure atop the tower located on the aft section of the dreadnought.

The CIS leaders, at a loss for words, shoved off to their new quarters.

Dooku then turned to the young mirilian girl standing before him. She felt chills run up her spine as the dark lord looked at her.

"So, we finally meet in person dear child. Come with me," Dooku said, motioning for Barriss to follow him.

Even though Barriss was no longer a jedi, and she just broke a bunch of sep leaders out of prison after having been rescued from that same prison on Dooku's orders, she was still nervous to around Count Dooku, the leader of the Separatist Alliance, and a dark lord of the Sith. They continued walking down the ship's corridors.

Battle droids marched to where they had to be. Other droids performed maintenance on the ships inner workings. Three B1 droids were working on a broken terminal. Two of the droids had disassembled the terminal to assess the damage.

"Go get the tools," one ordered.

"What tools?" the one not working on the terminal asked.

"The tools that we have been using for the last two years," he said to his ignorant counterpart.

"Oh those tools," the ignorant droid said. **(A/N: quick name that show).**

Barriss shook her head when she heard them.

 _'Idiots'_.

Dooku and Barriss made it to an inner chamber deep inside the ship. As they walked into the chamber, her heart started to pound faster the deeper she walked into the chamber.

That's when Dooku turned to Barriss, making her stop dead in her tracks.

"Tell me child...you already know who Ahsoka Tano is, correct?" Dooku asked.

Barriss nodded nervously. "She used to be my friend. Until I framed her for the bombings of coarse".

"Then I don't need to tell you about your next target. What can you tell me about the Nexus Route?" he asked.

"It's a secret route that connects Republic and CIS core worlds," Barriss said.

"Then you know the importance of recovering those plans. I want you to find her and get me those plans. In exchange, I will grant you the chance to join our ranks as my new apprentice," Dooku said.

Barriss thought about it for a moment.

 _'A chance to be an agent working against the Jedi? How can I resist_?'

"What are my leads?" Barriss asked.

Dooku pulled out his holo-projector. It showed a hologram of Lux Bonteri.

"A certain senator that has been trouble to me in the past. My spies tell me that he has past relations with Tano, and has recently requested an audience with Shili's governor. We are tracking his movements right now. You will follow him. If my spies are correct, then he will lead you to your prey," Dooku said, before deactivating the hologram.

 _'Oooohhh, handsome. So Ahsoka has a boy chasing after her? Ahsoka sure knows how to pick 'em. I can't say I blame my old friend for her...exquisite tastes either._ '

Barriss smiled. "It will be my absolute pleasure. But what about Ahsoka?" she asked.

"After her betrayal at the hands of the Order she served without question, she will feel conflicted. We may be able to turn her over to our side. Once she has served her purpose, we will provide her with a new one in the ranks of the Inquisitorius ... whether she likes it or not," Dooku said coldly.

Barriss bowed her head in respect to her knew master. "I shall leave at once master," she said.

"Not without help. You will be outfitted with a warship to pursue Tano, a company of commando droids, along with a small donation from Grievous' personal army" Dooku said, referring to the Magna-guards that protected the cyborg leader. Barriss bowed her head in respect, before turning around and walking out the door.

Dooku smiled.

 _This mission will determine the outcome of the war_.

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 **That's chapter 7 everyone.**

 **Hope your enjoying the story.**

 **This is Grubkiller, signing out.**


	8. Chapter 8-It Followed Me Home

**Have no fear, Grubkiller is here.**

 **Hey folks. Here's chapter five of my clone wars story, Escaping the past.**

 **Enjoy.**

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 _Governor's mansion, home to Togrutan head of state Aeon Flix_.

In the early morning hours on Shili, Governor Flix's husband and sons had gone out on a hunting trip, while she stayed home to manage the Government.

After fulling dressing for the day, she walked outside with a cup of coffee and her data pad, which showed her itinerary. Her guards, who were armed with Republic weaponry, as this was a Republic planet, saluted her when she walked by. She returned it.

When she walked up to her speeder, her driver opened the door for her.

"Good morning madam Governor," he said.

"Good morning Kor'Zunn," she said as she stepped in. "Let's get a move on. I don't want to be late for conference today".

Just as the driver nodded and closed the door, a red stream of light jutted out of his chest. He screamed in pain, before the blade was withdrawn and he fell to the ground in a lifeless heap.

The governor screamed and scooted back to the empty seat next to her.

She then saw a figure with the physique of a woman and wearing all black slowly appear out of no where.

Governor Flix could hear her guards outside.

'Halt assassin!'

The un-cloaked assassin activated a dual red saber and assumed a fighting stance.

'Attack!'

The guards began to fire their DC-15 blasters at the assassin. Blue stun rounds began to shriek towards the figure, who began to expertly deflect every round that came her way.

The assassin then charged, swinging her blades ferociously. The guards moved to subdue her, but they were cut apart. One guard lost his head, others were cut in half, and others were simply stabbed to death.

But then she raised her hands and lifted a guard up into the air. He struggled for a few moments before his hands went up to his throat. He then stopped struggling and was dropped to the ground.

The assassin then turned towards the Governor's speeder. She tried to get into the front seat to start driving, but the door to her right was suddenly ripped away with an invisible force.

She shrieked when the assassin pulled her out with the same invisible force that ripped the door off.

The struggling governor was then forced to the ground and started choking.

The unknown assassin then came closer to her. She was wearing a mask and spoke in a distorted voice.

"Good morning governor. Sorry about the mess. I was hoping that you could help me with something," she said.

A small seeker droid, which had a red eye, an oval shaped body, and antennae, began to walk on her arm. It presented the terrified governor with it's robotic limbs, which crackled with electricity. The governor flinched in terror, her chest heaving with every strained breath.

"Where is Ahsoka Tano?"

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _In the fields, on the outskirts of Ahsoka's hometown_.

It was a beautiful morning outside. The birds were singing, the bugs were chirping, and the sun was just starting to peak out over the horizon. There was hardly a cloud in sight. It was the early as the sun started to rise, giving the dark blue morning sky an orange tint.

The Tano family were having deep fried nuna for dinner. Nuna was a bird creature from the swamps of Naboo. They were a delicacy that was spread across the galaxy for its meat and eggs. However, most Togrutans considered it laziness to just import meat that was already dead. That's why they let them go to run and be caught by Togrutan hunters. Ahsoka's hunting partners, her father Jorman and her grandfather Kalatosh, were perfect examples of that sentiment. Do it the Togrutan way by hunting or starve.

They snuck through the orange grassy fields of the countryside to hunt their imported prey. Shili had multi colored grass fields that acted as camouflage for the Togrutan people. It also hid other animals, like the Akul, which had orange fur. The three Togrutans continued walking. Kalatosh was walking further ahead. He was an excellent tracker. Ahsoka and her father hung back. They all carried high powered hunting blasters. They were deep in conversation, but in a hushed tone as not to scare away their prey.

"I still don't like that you've already invited a boy, an outsider no less, into our home. I don't trust him," Jorman said.

"Oh Daddy, he's only visiting for a couple of days. And he said that he would help around the house until he leaves. So consider it free labor," Ahsoka said to her overly protective father.

"Huh, yeah, and then he'll end up staying for a year, mooching off of us," Jorman said.

"That's not going to happen. Besides, Lux is a senator," Ahsoka said.

"Another reason why I dislike him. Arrogant political elitists," Jorman said dismissively.

"He's not like that. Just please try to get along with him? For me?" Ahsoka said.

Jordan turned to see his eldest daughter giving her a pouty look, her bottom lip jutting out. He caved in and gave a slightly exasperated look.

"UUHH, very well," Jorman said.

Ahsoka smiled. "Thank's Daddy".

"Will both of you quiet down? I found them," Kalatosh hissed.

Ahsoka and Jorman rushed up to the elder Togrutan to see what he was seeing. A flock of imported Nuna, released into the wild for Togrutan traditionalists to put on a table for their families.

"Heh heh heh. Hello dinner. Make sure you get the big ones," Kalatosh said as he, Ahsoka, and Jorman sighted up their targets.

They fired. Their red blasts travelled across the threshold between the predators and their prey. The sound of their weapons discharging rolled across the fields and hills. As soon as the Nuna heard the sounds of the weapons discharging, they scattered. Ahsoka, not being very good with firearms, missed. But kalatsoh and Jorman, being more experienced, hit their targets. They killed a couple of moderately sized ones.

"Ah Kriff!" Ahsoka exclaimed.

"Heh heh. Gotta be quicker than that little 'un," Kalatosh said.

Ahsoka shook her head and got up before she set her rifle down and grabbed her knife from her boot. She held it by the blade, drew her arm back, and threw it. It spun like a propeller as it flew towards her target: the fattest of the flock. The knife pierced the fleeing nuna before it fell to the ground, dead. She looked to her elders, who looked on in stunned silence. Ahsoka smiled before she ran up to her kill. She bent down and pulled her blade out of the dead bird. She examined the bloody blade before wiping the blood off into the grass. Jorman and Kalatosh ran up.

"Wow! No wonder it couldn't get away. This thing really let itself go," Ahsoka joked.

Kalatosh patted Ahsoka on the shoulder while Jorman collected the three dead nuna in a bag. "You're definitely a togrutan".

Ahsoka smiled at her grandfather.

 _He's right. I am a togrutan_.

* * *

 _Back at the Tano residence, Shili, noon_.

Hours after Ahsoka, Jorman, and Kalatosh came home from their hunt, they were back home. The men had brought Ahsoka out to hunt for dinner, and now it was time for Bela to bring her into the kitchen to clean it and cook it. The two of them spent hours cleaning the nuna and they were just about to put the finishing touches on one of the three dead birds, the fat one that Ahsoka killed. The other two would be eaten at a later date. They were just doing the large one first. Plus, sense it was Ahsoka's, it was a symbolic _'welcome to the family'_ meal.

"Alright, pay attention young one. Now that we've cleaned and seasoned the nuna, now we must _wha wha, wha, wha whawha wha wha,"_ Bela said before her voice became a low toned mumble in Ahsoka's head.

Ahsoka had become distracted however. As her nanna finished putting the spices on the nuna, Ahsoka leaned against the counter stared out the window. She watched as Lux and Raana tended to the garden and planted flowers. They seemed to be having a conversation. Ahsoka noticed Lux gesturing toward the house every often. They must've been talking about her.

Ahsoka eventually completely tuned out her grandmother's cooking instructions as she continued to watch as Lux planted flowers with her mother. Ahsoka smiled, coiled her arms around herself, and sighed.

 _'What I would give to have a normal life with him'_.

"Ahsoka?" someone asked as her shoulder was shaken. Ahsoka snapped out of her daydream and looked to see that it was her grandmother talking to her. "I said it's time to put the nuna in the oven".

"Oh, uh, right, I...I'll get right on that," Ahsoka said before looking back at Lux planting flowers outside with her mother.

Bela looked out the window to see what Ahsoka was looking at. She chuckled.

"He's quite handsome. I think you two would make a cute couple," Bela said.

"Mmm hhmm," she agreed. "Wait, what?" Ahsoka asked, alarmed.

"Deary, why don't you two just get together. He poured his heart out to you last night and you're still on the fence," her grandmother lectured.

"I know, it's just-it's just that I don't know if I can bring myself to say yes. I left Coruscant to leave my old life behind. I'm afraid it'll keep me back," Ahsoka explained. "Or worse," Ahsoka trailed off.

Bela placed a reassuring hand on Ahsoka's shoulder.

"Ahsoka. Listen. You might have had a painful past, but you can't allow that pain to dictate the rest of your life. You must embrace what has happened and draw strength from it. And you can't just abandon everything from your old life. You have to understand that you will never truly leave everything behind. Your old beau has come to rekindle that warmth that you've both felt whenever you were in the same place. Think of his being here as a sign of good fortune," Bela said.

Ahsoka looked at her and they both smiled.

"Thanks Nanna," Ahsoka said as she gave her grandmother a hug.

"No problem dear. Now why don't you put the nuna in the oven?" Bella said leading Ahsoka to the oven.

The nuna sat inside a pan atop a wooden oven paddle. Ahsoka grabbed the paddle and gently slid the dish inside the hot oven. Bela closed the oven door after Ahsoka withdrew the paddle. Over the next 40 minutes, as the meat popped and sizzled, the scent of the nuna filled the house as it slowly cooked.

Lux walked in with the others as dinner was about to start.

He took a whiff of the cooking meat.

"Mmmm, Is that the nuna cooking ma'am?" Lux asked.

"Yes senator. And it'll be ready in about 10 minutes. And you can thank my little helper here," Bela said with her hands on Ahsoka's shoulders, who was blushing fiercely.

"Yup! She killed it and now she's cooking it!" Kalatosh exclaimed. He mock sniffled. "They grow up so fast".

Lux smiled and looked at Ahsoka.

"Well I can't wait to see what it tastes like," Lux said while still looking at Ahsoka.

Ahsoka, still blushing, looked back up at him.

"Me neither," Ahsoka said, still staring at Lux, almost lovingly.

* * *

 _Tano residence, dusk, Shili_.

Ahsoka and Lux walked out of the house to get some fresh air. They had left the dining room after dinner was done and everyone had cleared out. It was nighttime and the stars were out. Much like earlier that day, there was not a cloud in sight. The two of them walked to the backyard. Ahsoka looked up at the starry sky.

"It's beautiful out tonight," Ahsoka said.

She then felt two arms coiling around her waist from behind, and rest two hands on either side of her well-trimmed stomach. She then felt herself being drawn into Lux's embrace.

"Perhaps. But I can think of something, or rather someone, who's beauty can outshine the brightest star," Lux said as he gently rested his cheek against the upper part of one of his crush's head tails. He then placed both of his hands on her stomach. She was wearing a tight purple t-shirt with little ocean waves for decoration. He scratched one of his fingertips against the fabric, enjoying the warmth that permeated her tight shirt. Her wardrobe choice hugged her torso so well that Lux's eyes were rewarded with her beautiful and well defined curves. It also made her look less like a warrior and more like a regular teenage girl.

"Mmm. Don't go to far Luxie," Ahsoka cooed. "Daddy might turn the garden hose on you," Ahsoka said as she brought one of her hands up to lightly scratch his cheek, the one that wasn't touching her Lekku.

"Let him try. I know that you'll be here to help me. You always are". He said. His statement made Ahsoka blush. "Besides..." Lux said as placed one hand on her shoulder. "...he hasn't killed me yet".

Ahsoka chuckled.

She her head over her shoulder to look at Lux. She used the back of her hand to rub Lux's cheek.

"And he never will," Ahsoka said as she leaned her head into Lux's shoulder.

Lux smiled. He placed one hand on her shoulder and continued to hold her in his embrace. Ahsoka smiled and used one of her hands to clasp with his free one, interlocking their fingers together. She wasn't wearing her gloves, so their hands clasped together, allowing them to feel each other's warm soft skin.

They smiled at each other, their eyes sparkling as they looked at each other.

Ahsoka turned around in his loose embrace. She placed her hands on his shoulders and moved into his warm embrace, lightly pushing her bust against his chest. He then placed his hands on her hips, his fingertips lightly brushing the top of her butt cheeks, which were outlined very nicely by her tight yoga pants. They both smiled as they looked into each other's eyes lovingly. The two of them closed their eyes and inched closer until they were a centimeter apart. Their lips locked together for a small kiss. After about five seconds, their lips broke apart with a ' _smoosh'_ sound.

Ahsoka was now uncontrollably blushing. Lux thought it was cute. He rested his forehead against hers.

"I love you Ahsoka," Lux said, as he hovered his lips in front of hers.

"I know," she responded as she coiled her arms around his neck, where she started to scratch Lux's hair.

For a long time, Ahsoka couldn't fully commit herself to this experience. But Lux, the gentlemen that he was, was still willing to give her space and time. But that didn't mean that Ahsoka wasn't going to give any ground at all. In fact, it was quite the contrary. She felt herself being pulled in by this experience more and more. And every time she drawn closer, she didn't dare turn away from him.

They leaned in for another kiss.

But just as their lips barely brushed against each others, Ahsoka was able to hear something with her lekku. She pulled her head back and looked around.

"What's wrong?" Lux asked.

"I-I thought I heard something," Ahsoka said.

"It's probably just the wind Ahsoka," Lux said, his eyes half closed, before placing his lips on her's again. After about two seconds, she withdrew from the kiss, their lips breaking apart with a wet smacking sound.

"N-no, it sounded like a robotic belch," Ahsoka tried to explain.

Lux, with his hands still on her waist, looked at Ahsoka with one eye brow arched over the other in a confused look.

"What?" He asked.

It didn't look like it, but Lux was just moderately frustrated.

"I'm serious. I really do hear somethi-There!" Ahsoka said as she pointed to something hovering above the house.

It was a small droid of some kind. The droid's body was a half-hemisphere dome with a red photoreceptor eye. Attached to that dome were five articulated, tentacle-like limbs that ended in pincers. It's domed head was topped with a small array of antennas.

Lux and Ahsoka watched as the droid was joined by two others of the same make. They were making the same robotic belching sounds as the first one.

"What are they?" Lux asked.

"I don't know," Ahsoka asked.

All of a sudden, the three droids _(A/N: Seeker droids from SW Rebels)_ swooped down onto Lux and Ahsoka's position. They ducked just in time as the droids swooped past them. They fired yellow blasts of energy that were meant to stun people. Ahsoka, putting her physical skills to the test, dodged and cartwheeled out of the way of their blasts.

Lux sought cover behind a tree. He pulled a small blaster from his hip. The same one he once threatened Ahsoka with over Mandalore when he was full of rage, and used on Onderon against the CIS. His time in the Onderon rebels made him a descent shot. He fired several blue laser bolts into the air and managed to hit one of the droids. The probe droid burst into flames and belched smoke and debris as it careened into the lawn. Ashoka's father wasn't going to like that. He took pride in his lawn.

 _'Jolly fine work Bonteri, get your crush's dad to dislike you even more'_.

Ahsoka turned to face the two droids that were chasing her. As they fired, she raised both of her hands and summoned the power of the force. The invisible energy emitting from her palms surrounded the two droids and their outer shells collapsed inward from her power. The two crushed droids fell to the ground.

When the ordeal was done, Ahsoka and Lux dusted themselves off (so to speak).

"What was that all about? What are they doing here?" Lux asked, his eyes bugging out of their sockets.

Suddenly they both heard a scream coming from the house.

"Oh no!" Ahsoka exclaimed, knowing that they were about to find out. They both ran towards the house to investigate. Once they got back to the house, they found that someone had cut a hole into the side of the house. "Oh no!" Ahsoka exclaimed again as she stepped inside the house with Lux in tow.

They slowly moved upstairs and up to the dining room where they ate earlier. They hid behind a wall to reconnoiter the situation. They were in the living room which had a small flight of stairs that led up to the dining room, with a banister that enclosed the dining room. There were shattered plates everywhere, and the table cloth was hanging off of the table.

But that wasn't the most unusual thing.

An apparent assassin wearing an all black outfit was what was unusual. The figure was obviously female because of the petite form, the bubbly rump, and the noticeable (very noticeable) bust. The mysterious figure held a struggling Tuktee by his throat. She also had a red lightsaber held outward towards Raana and Bella. They had obviously been cleaning up when the assassin barged in. Little Ashla was in the opposite corner with part of the table cloth concealing her.

"Tell me where the jedi is or this one's head starts rolling," the figure said as she held the saber closer to Tuktee's neck. Her voice was distorted. She was most likely wearing a mask.

"Mommy!" the little boy screamed, tears streaming down his petrified face.

The two women gasped.

"Wait! Don't hurt him!" Bela begged.

"There is no jedi. Please, for the love of God, let my baby go. I'm begging you," Raana begged, as tears started to stream down her terrified face.

The figure gave it some thought.

"As you wish," the figure said as she tossed little Tuktee to the floor. He grunted as he landed with a thud. He crawled, in an almost pathetic fashion, over to his big sister, Ashla, in the corner. The two sobbed and held each other in a death grip as tears streamed down their cheeks.

The black clad figure then turned back to Raana and Bella.

"I'll just have to start removing limbs until you loosen your tongues," the figure said as she raised her red blade over their heads.

Bella and Raana looked away from the coming blow, which never came.

The figure was frozen in place. She struggled to get free. Ahsoka had left her cover and raised her hands, channeling as much energy as possible. She then used the power of the force to suspend the assassin in the air. She then threw the assassin over the banister and to the other side of the room. She hit the wall with a thud and landed on the floor. She struggled at first, but got back up to see what had happened. The assassin looked up to see who it was. It happened to be her target: Ahsoka Tano.

"Ahhh, Ahsoka Tano. You know, local life doesn't suit you very well. Perhaps you should've considered maintenance ... mmmmh ... or exotic dancing," the figure said in her distorted voice.

Ahsoka had her knife out in a reverse grip and her fist balled in a fighting stance. Lux was beside her with his blaster raised.

"And I see that your boyfriend found you. Did you know that I followed him straight here? Love is such a stupid thing that will get people killed," the figure taunted.

"Show yourself coward. Stop hiding behind a mask," Ahsoka demanded, dismissing everything the assassin just said.

The figure gave a robotic chuckle.

"As you wish," the figure said as she pressed a button on her helmet, which retracted the face plate to reveal her olive colored face and her familiar blue eyes.

Ahsoka froze.

"B-Barriss?" Ahsoka asked almost shocked. She then bore the face of warrior, her teeth bared in rage. "What are you doing here?"

"My new master sent me here," Barriss said in her regular voice with a wicked smile across her face.

" _New Master_?" Ahsoka asked in confusion. She then looked at the shoulder pads on Barriss' uniform and found the hexagonal emblem of the Separatist Alliance. "Dooku!" Ahsoka exclaimed.

"That's right. You have something that he wants. Hm, and that handsome senator that has caused him trouble in the past will make a nice bonus," Barriss said looking past Ahsoka at Lux, who tensed up slightly.

"Well Dooku's not getting anything today. In fact, I'm going to make sure that his new assassin doesn't go back to him at all," Ahsoka threatened.

The fallen jedi laughed. "HAHAHAH! With a knife? Surely you can't be serious?" Barriss mocked.

Without a word, Ahsoka vaulted into the air at a surprised Barriss. When she landed, she placed her hand on the floor and used the force to emit a shockwave that sent Barriss flying backwards. She hit the wall, but recovered just in time to charge at Ahsoka. The two of them began their dance of death. Barriss used the force on Ahsoka's knife, forcing it to fly right out of her hands. She then swung her blade at the togrutan, who expertly dodged her swings by cartwheeling backwards.

The fallen Jedi then brought her blade down on Ahsoka, who crossed her arm over her face. Barriss' red blade made contact with Ahsoka's arm braces. The blades deactivated in Barriss' hands as she finished the swing.

She looked at it in shock. And then she looked at Ahsoka just in time to see her launch a force push from her palms, sending the mirilian assassin back, her high-heeled boots scraping against the wooden floor.

Barriss seethed in frustration as she, again, arose from her knees.

She looked at her blade, shocked when she discovered that it would not reactivate. Then she looked at Ahsoka, who was tapping her finger against one of her arm braces.

"Cortosis knife and braces. Your blade'll be useless for the time being," Ahsoka said as she smiled.

Barriss smiled. The circular part of her blade spun around, allowing her to point it in the other direction. She then extended her other blade on her dual ended sword.

Ahsoka looked on in shock.

"Impressive. But don't you mean ' _one_ ' of my blades?" Barriss asked mockingly as she channeled a powerful force push that sent Ahsoka head first into a wall with a grunt, knocking her unconscious.

Lux looked back at his unconscious crush. He then back looked at Barriss with rage in his eyes before raising his blaster. He fired. Blue plasma bolts travelled towards Barriss, but she was quicker. She placed her crimson blade in front of the blue laser bolts. She expertly deflected the bolts away from her. The bolts were deflected back at Lux. Most of them hit the wall behind him, but one actually hit the blaster that he just used to fire those bolts in the first place. The blaster exploded in Lux's hand. He screamed in pain, dropped the demolished gun, and held his injured hand. His hand was slightly burned and had several small fragments in it. It caused his hand to sting something fierce, causing him to drop to one knee.

He breathed in and out through his teeth at the burning pain in his palm. Barriss walked over. Lux scooted back to the wall, not knowing that Ahsoka was still slumped against the wall next to him. Barriss stood over him and raised her blade over her head, ready to deliver the final blow. Lux closed his eyes, about to accept his fate, when suddenly...fate decided to take a different coarse.

"Don't move assassin!" A new voice came.

Lux and Barriss looked up the stairs. Jorman and Kalatosh were standing at the top of the staircase with their hunting rifles pointed at Barriss. They fired, but in one swift movement, Barriss deflected both bolts with her saber, which she held with one hand, and they flew wildly into the wall behind her. She used her other hand to use the force to pull their hunting rifles out of their hands. The rifles flew towards Barriss and she brought her blade back to cut the rifles in half. The two togrutan males looked at Barriss with pure terror in their eyes.

She smiled.

 _'Their afraid of me. Good'_.

Barriss used the force again to throw the two males across the dining room. They hit the wall and landed in the mess of shattered dishes. They were unconscious and bleeding. Bella and Raana ran to see if their husbands (and Raana's father) were okay. While Barriss was distracted, Lux jumped up from the floor and dove forward at Barriss, tackling her to the ground. Barriss dropped her blade and it skidded across the ground to the middle of the room.

Just as this was happening, Ahsoka began to regain consciousness. She blinked. Her vision was fuzzy, but it began to clear up. She could see her crush tussling with her former best friend. Her head throbbed as she tried to get up. She then saw Barriss' blade discarded in the middle of the floor. She had to act fast. Ahsoka reached out with the force to summon the fallen blade.

Just as that happened, Barriss kneed Lux in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. He kneeled to the ground, trying to regain his breath. But then Barriss used the force to suspend him in the air. Lux's hands went up to his throat as he started to feel pressure on it. Barriss was slowly starting to choke him. The mirilian dark-sider walked up to her floating prey. She pressed her large breasts forward onto Lux's pecks before speaking.

"You and the peasants put up a good fight senator," Barriss said as she smashed her lips against Lux's. His eyes shot open in surprise, and after a few seconds, she broke the kiss. "But it was all hopelessly in vain".

"You think so Barriss?" Someone asked.

Barriss turned just in time to see Ahsoka activating her lightsaber. The red blade extended in front of the angry togrutan.

"Put. Him. Down." Ahsoka ordered.

Barriss chuckled and used the force to make Lux, who was still gasping for air, float between her and Ahsoka as a meat shield. She also used the force to pull Ahsoka's discarded knife into her grasp.

"I'm afraid that is not going to happen," Barriss said as she pressed a button on her wrist comm.

A few moments later, a squad of commando droids crashed into the front door and windows of the Tano residence. The family gasped and screamed as the Commando droids damaged their property, and moved to corner their long lost family member, Ahsoka. The feeling of triumph and pride that was in Ahsoka suddenly vanished, immediately turning into frustration and despair.

"You see Ahsoka, If you try to attack me, then I will just crush dear Lux's windpipe. Then I will just take your 'wonderfully crafted blade', Hm, and use it to slit. Your families. Throats," Barriss said, emphasizing the last four words. "You may defeat my droids. But by the time you do...everyone you love will have perished".

Ahsoka looked around her. Then she looked at her terrified family. Then up at Lux. Sweet Lux, who's face started to turn purple as he continued to choke. Tears started to well up in her eyes. She closed her eyes in a vain attempt to keep the tears from flowing. She deactivated the blade and threw it to the ground. She dropped to her knees and placed her hands behind her head.

Barriss smiled. The dark sider dropped Lux to the ground. He sucked in the deepest breath that he could and started to violently cough when he exhaled. He collapsed onto his side and continued coughing.

"Captain. If you'd please," Barriss ordered, gesturing to her two prisoners.

"Roger roger," the droid captain said.

The droids moved in to secure the prisoners. Ahsoka and Lux were put in binders and were about to be escorted out of the building. Ahsoka looked back up at her family. They were all looking down in horror as they saw their little girl being taken away, by force this time. Tears welled up in their eyes. Raana buried her face into Jorman's shoulders, sobbing.

Little Tuktee ran out of Ashla's grasp and down the stairs.

"'Soka!" He yelled in his little boy voice. She turned to see two commando droids move towards him threateningly.

"NO!" Raana screamed out as Jorman ran after their son.

Ahsoka fell to her knees, and tears began to stream down her cheeks.

Before the droids could harm little Tuktee, Jorman rushed down and grabbed his hysterical son. That's when a commando droid hit him in the back of the head with his rifle stock, while two others subdued him. "Gah! Get off of me you metallic bastards. Let me get my son!"

"No, don't take my big sister," Tuktee begged in his little boy voice, as a droid lifted him up by his arm.

For the first time in her life, Ahsoka was uncontrollably sobbing as she saw, and heard, her little brother crying for her. Lux placed his shackled hands on her shoulders. She rested her head on his own shoulder, sobbing into it. He then proceeded to help Ahsoka up to her feet and lead her to the shuttle, while she continued sobbing.

Barriss turned to her droid captain.

"Let them be. They can't do any harm".

The droid nodded.

"Yes mistress," Captain B-260, the droid that helped brake Barriss out of prison, said.

The droids let Jorman go, and one put Tuktee back on the ground to run into his father's embrace, bawling his eyes out the whole time.

The droids moved their new prisoners aboard their shuttle, leaving behind a damaged house, and a damaged family. It took off and headed for a Separatist Providence class warship in geosynchronous orbit above.

The CIS were very close to getting their ultimate prize: The location of the Nexus Route, who's co-ordinates were still in Ahsoka's head.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Separatist Providence class warship (Destroyer variant), Barriss' personal warship, Geo-sync orbit above Shili_.

" _Excellent work my new apprentice. How soon will you have the data?_ " A holographic version of Dooku said to his new assassin, who kneeled before him.

"Very soon. I will extract the data from her mind and deliver it to you as soon as possible," Barriss said.

" _Very well. Make it quick. These plans will turn the tide of the war in our favor,_ " Dooku said.

 **"** Yes master," Barriss said as Dooku's hologram disappeared.

She rose up and left her private quarters, which was at the top of the aft spire. Barriss took the elevator down the spire and walked down the corridor of the ship to Ahsoka's location. Ahsoka was currently put to sleep with a sedative, that also caused temporary paralysis, in order to make her more compliant with the interrogation. Lux on the other hand was in the prison blocks. The mirilian dark sider continued down the hall when her com-link started to chirp. She answered it.

"What is it?"

" _Mistress, we are having engine troubles at the moment. We can't go into hyperspace at this time,_ " the ship's captain said.

"Were we sabotaged Captain?" Barriss asked with concern.

"No ma'am. The ship is overdue for maintenance, and a hyperdrive replacement. With the Republic pushing into our territory, places where we can make repairs are becoming less available. Our withdrawing battlegroups crowding the repair stations doesn't help either," the captain continued.

Barriss gave an exasperated groan.

"Just make those repairs. I want us out of here as soon as possible. I don't want to be here when the Republic sends in reinforcements," Barriss ordered.

 _'Typical. I finally get my own ship to command and it's a piece of junk due for an overhaul_. _Thanks a lot Dooku!'_

She made it to the prison cell where Ahsoka was. She was sound asleep on the table. The young and attractive togrutan was also restrained to the table.

"Mistress. We are ready when you are".

Barriss waved the droids away. "Leave us," she said. The droids nodded and left the room. When the door was closed, she walked up to Ahsoka. First, Barriss checked to make sure that the sedative was working, and that Ahsoka was moderately paralyzed.

When that was confirmed, she smiled.

Then she extended a hand towards the unconscious ex-Jedi and the next instant, Ahsoka's clothes were wanted off, leaving the orange Togrutan's body completely exposed.

The corrupted darksider smirked when her eyes feasted upon Ahsoka's nude body. As she alongside the table, she glided a hand up unconscious ex-Jedi's body, and walked behind her, placing both of her hands on Ahsoka's head. She concentrated the power of the force onto Ahsoka's mind to look through her memories.

What Barriss was doing was something called _'Drain Knowledge'_. A dark side ability used to extract knowledge out of a sentient without his or her consent.

Ahsoka stirred in her sleep as she felt something, or someone, in her mind.

Barriss saw a deserty-jungle world. CIS forces were trying to keep their puppet regime in power on Onderon. A downed CIS gunship crushed a team of commando driods and knocked several Onderon rebels off the cliff. Ahsoka was trying to keep a dark-skinned girl from falling off of a cliff. But then suddenly, the downed droid gunship fired on Ahsoka as she tried to save the dark-skinned girl. Her shoulder was grazed, forcing her to drop the dark skinned woman. A enraged, and saddened, Lux destroyed the gunship's cannon before rushing to Ahsoka's side, watching as the other woman plummeted to her death.

 _'Oooohhh Ahsoka. You had to let someone die to be with Lux. How devious.'_

Barriss continued swimming through Ahsoka's memories.

The next memory was Ahsoka and Barriss trapped in the tank on Geonosis, followed by the two of them on the medical ship during that worm infestation, fighting off CIS forces in front of a group of clones, flying through the battle over Umbara, the temple bombings, their duel, and finally, the trial.

 _'Oh Ahsoka. You and I made a good team at one point. But as I told your master, "trust is for fools"_.'

She dug deeper into Ahsoka's memories and found a CIS stronghold on the volcanic planet of Lola Sayu. She pushed away a ravenous anuba dog that was chewing on Even Piell. She leaned closer and saw that he was telling her something before he died.

 _'That's it. The Nexus Route co-ordinates'_.

Barriss concentrated her power and extracted the co-ordinates. Now, the very future of the Clone Wars were lodged in her head.

Ahsoka moaned and opened her eyes, then began to frantically struggle against her bonds.

"Wakey, wakey, Little 'Soka," Barriss greeted her, using the same name that Plo Koon used for her.

"You!" Ahsoka snarled.

"Me ..." Barriss responded with a smirk.

She grinned and her grin grew broader, the more frantic Ahsoka struggled.

"Something the matter, Ahsoka? I'm starting to get the impression that you're not happy to see me." Barriss said, continuing to smirk.

"What have you done to me?!" The struggling Togrutan demanded.

"Hmm..." Barriss shrugged, "...who knows?" The grinning Mirilian got up from her nearby chair, and deliberately slowly walked the short distance between where she had sat and where the interrogation table was keeping the frantic Ahsoka in an upright position. "The more interesting question, my dear," she placed a hand below Ahsoka's chin and -almost gently - forced her head up. "...is what I'm going to do to you."

Barriss could feel the anger rise up in Ahsoka. She tried to yank her head away, but the green-skinned Mirilain held her firm.

"G-get your hands off me! What did you do to Lux! And why am I naked?!"

"All very good question," Barriss said, then slid her hand down Ahsoka's neck and over her large breasts, "Wow, you have some very large knockers. Are these fake?"

"N-no", Ahsoka stuttered, "Why are you -"

"You know Ahsoka, I really don't want to hurt you..." Barriss stated as she began to massage Ahsoka's breasts. "...In fact..." Barriss continued, as Ahsoka squirmed, trying to twist away. "...I want us to be friends again, if you co-operate..." She said as she brought her other hand up, and started kneading both of Ahsoka's breasts. "...I'll treat you quite well."

Ahsoka tried to twist away from Barriss' touches again. But to no avail. Then she saw how how Barriss bent her head and brought her lips closer to Ahsoka's breasts.

"W-what are you doing?" Ahsoka protested.

Her green interrogator didn't immediately reply, but instead suckled on the deep orange nipples for a moment. "You've given me what I wanted," Barriss breathed when she looked up, and licked her own lips, "Honesty must be rewarded." And with that, she continued caressing the maroon buds with her tongue.

Ahsoka quivered from her gentle touches, but tried to squirm away at the same time.

"N-no," the Togrutan begged, "Please ... don't -"

But Barriss didn't stop. On the contrary, she stepped up her game. Ahsoka tried to escape the pleasurable tickling in her nipples. Then she shouted when her interrogator pushed a green hand into her nether regions and started massaging her in a lewd way.

"N-no, please... I can't ..."

"Yes, yes, you can," she said before she smiled. "You've given me what I wanted. Hmmm... and you've been well behaved since this started. So don't worry..." Barriss said as she got up, and took off all of her clothes, making her as equally naked as Ahsoka, "...As long as you keep up the good behavior," She said as she lied down on top of a petrified Ahsoka, their bared breasts joining in an incredibly erotic embrace, "this will feel _very_ nice."

* * *

 _Providence-class dreadnought, detention block_.

Later, after her... invasive interrogation, Ahsoka was marched down the cell block with Barriss in front of her. There were two magna guards, on loan from General Grievous' private army of bodyguards, flanking her former friend and current arch-nemesis. Battle droid units patrolled the detention block.

Ahsoka was finally given her clothes back after... _Force knows how long_. But she didn't get her undergarments back, making certain parts of her body more... noticeable.

The magna-guards, Barriss, and Ahsoka all stopped in front of a prison cell. Barriss pressed a button and the cell door opened.

"Welcome to your new home Ahsoka. Are the accommodations suitable for you?" Barriss mocked.

Ahsoka walked into the cell, which only had a single cot.

"If you don't like it, well too bad. I don't have a complaint box for prisoners," Barriss quipped.

"Then you won't mind if I take this one straight to management?" Ahsoka asked, unamused.

Barriss placed her hands on Ahsoka's shoulders.

"Don't worry Ahsoka. You just have to focus on the positives," Barriss said.

"Like?" Ahsoka pressed.

Barriss clapped her hands together. Nothing happened. Suddenly, the wall to the side of Ahsoka's cell opened up. It revealed the next cell over, which was blocked off by a transparent ray shield.

"For starters, you have company," Barriss said.

Ahsoka saw that her corrupted former friend was right. Lux was in the cell next to her own.

"Ahsoka? You're alright!" Lux exclaimed as he pressed his palms against the shield. One of them was wrapped up in bandages from his blaster exploding in his hands earlier.

She pressed her palms against the spot where Lux's palms were.

"It's ok Lux. I'm ok," Ahsoka said, neglecting to tell him about the fact that she was violated.

Lux placed his forehead against the shield. She did the same. Her eyes were shut tight, forcing a single tear to run down her cheek.

"Oh isn't that just touching? Well, if I were you, I would enjoy what little time you two have left together. Because you will never get it back," Barriss said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lux asked.

"UUUhhh! Must I draw a picture? When we get to our destination, you senator, will be sent to Raxus to be put on trial. For the crime of treason, which is punishable by death," Barriss said before chuckling.

She then walked over to Ahsoka.

"And you, my dear Ahsoka, will be whatever Dooku wants you to be. He wants you to be one of his assassins. Just think about it: revenge against the jedi, revenge against the Republic, and revenge against those who've made you suffer." Barriss said.

Ahsoka crossed her arms over her chest.

"Like you?" Ahsoka asked. Barriss was visibly upset by that question. "What happened to you? The Barriss I knew was kind and gentle. I looked up to you for a while. You were everything that the Jedi Order represented. You turned your back on the people that raised you ... that you loved. And you became Dooku's murdering puppet".

"I'm not a murderer, or a puppet. I'm a savior. The Jedi used to be noble. But now the dark side has taken over their fading light," Barriss snapped.

Ahsoka sighed. "I will admit ... that the Jedi are losing their identity. But you decided to go save it by becoming what you claim to be against," Ahsoka lectured.

"I attacked what the Jedi have become," Barriss shot back. "You know that the Jedi order has become a puppet for a corrupt system. I'm a reformer".

"Your idea of reforming the Jedi is by working for the Sith?!" Ahsoka exclaimed.

"You know that it was only a matter of time before someone like me did what I did. I'm not the first Jedi to leave the order since this war started." Barriss said. "And besides, If you take me up on my offer, then we will fight side by side, just like the old days..."

Then suddenly, the orange teen found herself pushed against the wall with the mischievous Mirilian girl pressing up against her. The skin tight clothing they both wore did little, except hide their modesty. And as Ahsoka soon noticed, it did nothing against certain ... touches.

"...Or perhaps better than the old days."

"Uhm ... Barriss ... is this any time or place for... this?" Ahsoka asked hesitantly, still aware of Lux and the droids. But Barriss placed a finger on Ahsoka's lips, making the Togrutan fall silent.

"What better time than one with a captive audience?" The dark, and mischievous, Jedi asked as she looked at a stunned Lux, her blue eyes sparkling playfully. Nimble fingers found their way between Ahsoka's legs and rubbed her most sensative parts through the pants she was wearing. "It's going to be quite a while to reach Serenno," Barriss breathed, "So if the Count doesn't deem either of you worthy to remain alive, I want to be able to remember the fun times we had ... like this."

And She kissed Ahsoka; long, deep, and passionately.

Ashoka's eyes widened in surprise, bugging out of her skull. She looked out of the corner of her eye to see that Lux was surprised too, and somewhat interested. Then Ahsoka stepped back, forcefully breaking their lips apart with a smooch sound. Then she just scowled at her. "I think I'll pass."

Barriss chuckled. "You say that now. But my Master can be quite persuasive. Then again... so can I." She turned away. But before she walked out of the cell, Barriss looked over at Lux, and grinned. "It looks like the Senator is willing to accept my offer."

Ahsoka was confused. Then she looked over at Lux's cell. It took her a moment to find out what Barriss meant. Then she looked at Lux's midsection, and saw a massive tent forming in his pants.

She blushed and looked away.

Lux then looked down and sat down, crossing one leg over the other to hide his ... excitement.

Then Barriss chuckled, before she finally walked out of the room and down the corridor, leaving Ahsoka and Lux alone in their cells, save for the two droid guards outside.

"This is all my fault. If I hadn't followed you here, then, well, none of this would've ever happened. I'm sorry Ahsoka. Truly sorry," Lux said.

"Lux. None of this was your fault. You had no idea that you were being followed. Besides, I'm glad that you came," Ahsoka said.

Lux looked at Ahsoka through the shield. "Re-really?"

"Of coarse. I've always thought of you when I needed something good to think about. And I always enjoy your company. You have no idea what you being here means for for me," Ahsoka said.

They both looked at each other lovingly through the shield.

"Well, I'm glad that you feel that way about me. It's too bad that we only have a little time left together, before horrible fates await us," Lux said negatively.

"That's Barriss talking," Ahsoka said as she stepped away from the shield that separated them. Lux looked at her confused. Ahsoka walked up to the shield. She turned to Lux before revealing her plan.

"Watch and learn," she said before she reached out through the force to grab a key card that was hanging from a droid's hip. She then used the force to place the key card into the cell's control panel outside the shield. The shield deactivated, allowing Ahsoka to walk out.

Both Battle droids turned around in surprise.

"Uh-oh!" They both said in unison.

"Oh yeah," Ahsoka said before summoning the force.

Ahsoka blasted the droids with a shockwave that sent them into the wall in pieces.

She turned around and punched in a few keys on the panel for Lux's cell.

"That's the Ahsoka I know," Lux said, making Ahsoka smile.

The cell shield dissolved. Ahsoka and Lux were now free. Lux walked up to Ahsoka and hugged her. Then he gave her a passionate kiss on the lips. It was the longest kiss that they've shared together. When Barriss kissed Ahsoka earlier, all Barriss wanted was power and domination. But with Lux, he was sincerely trying to show Ahsoka that he cared for her deeply.

They broke the kiss and looked into each others eyes.

"I love you Ahsoka," Lux said as they nearly got lost in each others eyes.

"I know you do," Ahsoka whispered into his ear, before she smiled being her flirtatious and innocent self.

Lux smiled at Ahsoka, who was still trying to play hard to get.

 _'Next time Ahsoka. Next time'_.

"Now try to keep up," Ahsoka said.

Lux looked at her with a confused look.

Suddenly (very suddenly), she sprinted down the hallway and disappeared around a corner.

Lux could hear blaster fire and the screams of frightened droids. He picked up an E-5 blaster rifle from one of the fallen droid guards that Ahsoka destroyed a few minutes ago.

"Classic Ahsoka," Lux said to himself as he took off down the corridor after Ahsoka.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **There's chapter 5 folks. hope you enjoyed.**

 **Grubkiller out.**


	9. Chapter 9-The Great Escape

**Have no fear, Grubkiller is here.**

 **Hey guys. Here's part 9 of my story 'Fall of the Republic'.**

 **enjoy.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"After her betrayal at the hands of the Order she served without question, she will feel conflicted. We may be able to turn her over to our side. Once she has served her purpose, we will provide her with a new one in the ranks of the Inquisitorius ... whether she likes it or not."-Count Dooku.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Separatist Destroyer, Barriss' private quarters_.

Barriss was in the middle of the chamber, which was at the very top of the superstructure tower that was protruding from the aft section of the providence class ship. The young dark side convert sat in front of the viewport that looked out onto the stars, and over the rest of the ship. She could not help but feel excited. She had two prisoners in the detention block. She had the Nexus Route co-ordinates in her head. She also gave a copy to the captain for back-up. With her mission a complete success, Dooku will reward her handsomely. She'll join the ranks of Sidious' Sith order and be the key to the CIS's success in this war.

Things were looking up for Barriss. Nothing would stop her, except of coarse the engine problems that kept the ship from going into hyperspace. Just then, her com-link started to buzz. She answered it.

"What is it? This had better be important. Do I hear blaster fire?"

" _Uhm, Mistress? Your prisoners are escaping. They look very unhappy. Ah, no, NNooooo_!" The panicking droid said before the transmission was cut.

 _'GGrrrrrrrrr! Someone really needs to rethink these holding cell designs',"_ Barriss thought to herself, thinking that Ahsoka might've escaped the cell the same way Barriss did on Coruscant.

"Alright. Time for lockdown," Barriss said as she activated her com. "Captain. Our prisoners have escaped. I want you to put all stations on high alert. And make sure the data is secured," she ordered the ship's captain.

" _Yes Mistress_ ," he said obediently.

"B-260, I want you to send your commandoes out. Search the ship for those prisoners and set your weapons to stun. I don't care what happens to the senator, but I want to take care of the togrutan personally".

"Roger Roger," the droid commander said in his monotone voice.

Suddenly, an alarm echoed throughout the ship. The call to battle-stations.

Barriss stood up and went to join the Hunter-Killer teams.

* * *

As Ahsoka ran through the ship, she had to put her Jedi skills to the test. She moved like an agile fox down the ships corridors, pushing aside any droid that got in her way. Every time she destroyed a droid, she couldn't help but enjoy the rush, the excitement, of doing one of the things that she loved most: knocking some droid heads together.

 _'Just like the good old days. Oh how I've missed this!'_

Behind her, Lux was using his rifle on anything that survived her onslaught of the droid army.

Three more droids, a super battle droid and two regulars, were blocking her path.

"Uh, halt!" one of the B1's said.

Ahsoka just kept charging.

"Well that didn't work," the other B1 droid said.

"Just shut up and fire you idiots!" the Super Battle Droid ordered.

"Roger Roger," the two droids said.

The three droids opened fire when she didn't do as they said earlier. Red laser bolts flew toward her feet, but she was too quick. She dodged the blasts by jumping onto the walls, and then off of them to the opposite wall in order to confuse them. She was basically jumping in a zig-zag pattern.

"I can't hit anything!" one B1 droid exclaimed.

"Then try aiming!" the other one suggested.

The B2 droid lumbered forward, ignoring its two dimwitted companions. He raised both of his arms cannons and fired rapidly down the corridor. Red light illuminated the dark gray halls of the separatist dreadnaught. It also illuminated Ahsoka as she continued jumping off of the walls like an acrobat. She jumped off of the wall, somersaulted through the air, and was about to land right in front of the B2 unit. They stared at each other, as if in slow motion, as Ahsoka dropped down in front of her. The SBD tried to bring its weapons to bare on the young girl, but she was too quick. As Ahsoka hit the ground, she used the force to emit a shockwave that lifted the droid up in the air. Ahsoka then twirled around and sent a powerful force push in the floating droid's direction while in midair. The B2 was much bigger and heavier than she was, but, as a former Jedi, size meant nothing to her. The force push sent the much larger droid flying down the corridor and into the B1 droids.

They looked at each other. "Uh-oh!" They said in unison.

The B2 hit both of them. It smashed one B1 droid into a wall, crushing it between the wall and the now offline B2 unit. The other droid was hit in the chest by the B2's arm and sent crashing to the floor, mostly unscathed.

"Better luck next time," Ahsoka said as she continued down the corridor where the droids tried to block her seconds earlier.

The surviving droid rolled over on its chest and looked at her charging down the corridor to a door at the end of it. "Hey, that's just rude".

The droid looked over his shoulder just in time to see Lux blast him at point blank range in the face. A new hole now occupied the droids mechanical head. Lux caught up with Ahsoka at the door. She was pressing keys on the terminal.

"Where are we going exactly? Shouldn't we get off the ship?" Lux asked.

"We should. But if we grab a pod now, then they'll just simply shoot us down or follow us to the surface. We need to cause a huge distraction," Ahsoka explained.

"How?" Lux asked.

Ahsoka opened the door. It was the engine room.

"Cover me while I find a terminal," Ahsoka said as she ran around a corner.

Lux heard more droids screaming in the distance, along with the sound of blaster rifles discharging.

 _I almost feel bad for them. Almost_.

Lux walked around for a couple minutes when he saw the doors open. It revealed six battle droids, with two super battle droids bringing up the rear.

"An intruder. Get him!" the droid sergeant ordered as he pointed at Lux with a mechanical finger.

The droids obeyed and fired on Lux. Laser bolts flew everywhere. Lux fired back, hitting two of the droids, forcing them to slump to the ground dead. Despite Lux's small victory, his hand was still injured and he was firing with his off hand, blindly. With his decreased accuracy and him being all by his lonesome, he couldn't take all of the droids by himself. He fell back behind a metal column. It sheltered him from the incoming blasts. He aimed his rifle around the column, firing blindly. It helped keep the droids at bay for a short time, but he was using an inaccurate method and running out of ammo at the same time. He was down to his last power pack for his weapon, which was half empty.

 _This is really bad_.

"Damnit Ahsoka! Where are you when I need you most?" He said aloud.

Suddenly, the two super battle droids were suspended into the air. They were still firing.

"Wait. Don't shoot, don't shoot, don't shoot!" the B1 sergeant ordered.

"I'm having a serious malfunction!" one SBD exclaimed.

On droid ran into Lux's field of view.

"Run away. Run aw-," the droid started to say before he was cut down by the floating SBD's.

Soon, all of the B1's were destroyed, and Lux peaked around the column to see the floating SBD's faced each other. They fired their powerful wrist rockets at each other, point blank, causing a powerful explosion that tore the two droids apart, sending burning shrapnel in every direction. Lux took cover behind his column to hide from the flying debris.

"What just happened?" Lux said aloud, seemingly to no one at first.

"Me!" said a voice behind him.

He then saw Ahsoka walking down the stairs that she ran up a few minutes ago. As she walked down the stairs, her hips and head-tails swayed from side to side. She slapped her hands together repeatedly, as if dusting them off after doing some heavy lifting. Evidently she had. Lux, still dumbstruck, was amazed, frightened, and aroused all at once. His mouth hung open. "That was you? How?" He exclaimed.

Ahsoka smirked

"Come on Lux. Give me a little credit. I'm always in time to save your butt," she flirted as she dragged her fingers along his chin as she passed him.

Lux nearly fell forward when Ahsoka withdrew her hand. Then he blushed fiercely.

"Now let's get out of here. I'd say that this ship'll go down in about a few minutes," she said casually.

"Alright then," Lux said as he started jogging after Ahsoka. Then he froze in place. "Wait. What?"

"I raised the temperature of the engines and the core, and then I deactivated the coolant systems. This ship is about to get really hot. Now come on. We've got to get to the escape pod bay," Ahsoka said as she took off down the corridor.

Lux ran after her.

 _'This day just get's better and better'_.

* * *

They made it to the aft escape pod bay. There was a squad of commando droids in the bay. Ahsoka charged. She jumped and delivered a powerful force kick to the nearest droid. It went flying into one of its comrades, destroying both of them. One droid headed right for Lux, but Ahsoka used the force to levitate the droid. It collapsed into a ball at her will. The final droid, with gold accents marking his rank, brandished a sword. He charged at Ahsoka. He swung the blade to the sides and even tried to bring it down on her head. She dodged each swing. Ahsoka raised her hands and used the force to send him crashing into the ceiling. She then crushed him down into the deck. Sparks flew from the exposed wiring in, and out of, B-260's head and torso.

When the coast was clear, Lux jumped into one of the escape pods and got behind the controls.

"Wait Lux, don't go anywhere," Ahsoka exclaimed.

she ran to a terminal in the center of the bay.

"Make it quick!" He called out after her.

Before she could do anything, Ahsoka saw a familiar face down the corridor. The figure had a red lightsaber.

 _Barriss_.

She pressed a few buttons as fast as she could as Barriss started sprinting down the hall. When Ahsoka was finished, a timer started counting down. Ahsoka turned around to see Barriss almost on top of her with two magna guards. She summoned as powerful a force push as she could. Her hands produced a shockwave that sent Barriss flying down the corridor in the opposite direction.

Ahsoka then rushed back down the corridor and boarded the pod with Lux and shut the hatch.

"Now Lux!" She exclaimed.

Lux hit a button and the pod jettisoned into space.

"What took you so long?!" He asked.

"I set all of those pods to launch in 30 seconds," Ahsoka said as she strapped herself into a seat.

Just then, all of the pods in the aft launch bay jettisoned to the planet below.

"Looks like it's been 30 seconds," Ahsoka said.

"Way to think ahead," Lux complimented.

She smiled at him.

 _'Thank the force we were still above Shili'_.

A few seconds later, the separatist dreadnaught fired a broadside salvo at the jettisoned pods. Over half of them burst into flames, but not the one that Ahsoka and Lux were on. Soon, their pod was safely in the atmosphere, leaving the doomed dreadnaught behind, while approaching freedom.

* * *

Barriss screamed and slashed her blade against the wall behind her. Any droid that was in the bay with her took a step back in order to avoid her wrath. She soon started to breath heavily through her teeth.

"Uh, they got away mistress," one droid said.

Barriss turned around and swiftly slashed her blade across its torso, slicing it in half. She reached for her comm.

"Captain. Prepare to make the jump to hyperspace. And rally our ground forces. I'm taking them to the surface," Barriss ordered.

" _Mistress. We can't go into hyperspace. The engines are overheating, and the coolant systems have been deactivated. The ship's engines are about to go critical_ ," the captain said.

Suddenly, a violent explosion in the aft section vibrated throughout the interior of the ship. The lights turned red, and the ship's PA system blared a warning.

" _Abandon ship! Abandon ship! Abandon ship!"_

Barriss growled in rage force dashed down the hall to the forward escape pod bay. Droids were already trying to leave the ship. One droid, that was too slow boarding the pod, was force pushed out of the way by Barriss.

"Hey!" the droid exclaimed as the hatch shut behind Barriss.

The pod was jettisoned from the now burning ship. The ship's captain, who had the Nexus route on a chip in his uniform pocket, was aboard the same pod as her. He was busy setting up the distress beacon. It flagged any other sep ship in the system, like the surviving shuttles, for evac. The dreadnaught, who's aft section glowed orange from the previous explosion, exploded again. This explosion was so powerful that it caused the armory for the gunnery deck in the center of the ship to ignite, causing secondary explosions that ripped the ship in half.

Everyone looked at the horrific, yet majestic, scene that they just escaped from.

"Well, at least it can't get any worse," one B1 unit said.

That's when a Venator-class Star Destroyer and several small escorts jumped out of hyperspace.

Everyone looked up in absolute terror as they looked at the ships that just arrived. One droid looked at the one who just spoke. "' _Can't get any worse'._ You just had to say something, didn't you?" He asked mockingly.

Barriss let her face drop into her hands in annoyance. There were only one reason that she wasn't cutting the two droids in half right now. She didn't want to cut the pod in half at the same time.

The Republic ships began to fire on the surviving Separatist ships that began to fight back. Vulture droids were blasted out of the sky, while shuttles and escape pods were being blasted apart.

Barriss reached for her wrist comm.

"Someone, get get us out of here. NOW!" She shouted.

Moments later, amidst the ' _great droid massacre_ ', a surviving shuttle managed to pick up Barriss' escape pod and fly away from the carnage, and then jump into hyperspace in the direction of Belderone.

* * *

Moments later, Barriss got out of the pod and climbed into the shuttle through an emergency hatch, while they were in hyperspace.

The captain and droids climbed out after her.

"Well," the same droid from earlier said, "at least we have the informa- _CRUNCH!_ "

Barriss used the force to smash the droid against the wall.

"Ow," the droid said after a few seconds. Then Barriss let go, allowing the damaged droid to fall to the ground.

Barriss sat down in a chair and began to contemplate this situation. Though it was a long-term victory for Dooku and the Confederacy, it was an absolute and utter defeat for her.

Her ship was destroyed.

Not only that, but it was destroyed by her ultimate prize: Ahsoka Tano. Who managed to get away from her.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Hey folks. That was chapter 9 for you.**

 **Chapter 10 is right around the corner. As soon as I release it, I'm going to be switching this story from T-rated to M-rated.**

 **Hope you enjoyed.**

 **This is Grubkiller, over and out.**


	10. Chapter 10-passion under the stars

**Have no fear, Grubkiller is here.**

 **Hey folks here's chapter 10 of 'The fall of the Republic'. Hope you enjoy it.**

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. it belongs to Lucasfilms, which was sold to the Darksi- duh I mean Disney.**_

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Ahsoka walked out of her and Lux's escape pod, which had just been used to escape Barriss' clutches and to crash land into the grassy surface of Shili.

Ahsoka stepped out onto the soil.

She stretched her arms over her head. "It feels good to be back on land," Ahsoka said, ruffling her bare feet into the ground before putting her boots back on.

Lux joined her with a survival pack from the pod on his back.

"So where to now?" Ahsoka asked.

Lux pointed off in the distance.

"I spotted a settlement on the holo-map about 10 miles that way. We'll go there and find a way to contact your family. If your father doesn't answer then ' _both_ ' of us should be ok.

Ahsoka smirked and rolled her eyes. Then it hit her. "Wait Lux. I don't know how to contact my family. I wasn't given that info yet".

"Then we'll just have to catch a ride to your village. There's also a small pond on the way there if we need to refill our canteens," Lux said.

Ahsoka looked up at the sky and over to the setting sun.

"It'll be dark soon. Let's find that pond and camp out for the night," she suggested.

Lux nodded in agreement.

With that, they started their long hike in the direction of the settlement.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Small pond, 5 miles from Togrutan settlement_.

Ahsoka and Lux found the body of water, which had a small waterfall that poured into a sparkling, crystal blue pond, which had a small stream that went through it. A deep forest was on the other side. The orange grass ended at a rocky bank edge that surrounded the pond. The air felt warm...comfortably warm. It was humid and somewhat moist.

The sun was still out, but it was going to be dusk soon.

So they set up camp. Although, it was a poor excuse for one, as they had no tent to shield them from the elements, and only one sleeping bag. But nonetheless, Lux gathered the firewood, while Ahsoka busted out the rations. About half an hour later, the two of them were having their rations near a nice warm fire. Lux tried to open his ration pack. But with his hand bandaged up, and still stinging from his injury, he struggled to open his rations. Ahsoka looked over and saw that he was having trouble. She scooted closer to him.

"Here. Let me help you," she said as she reached for his hand.

Lux actually expected her to open his can for him. But instead, she started to unwrap his bandages. She then took his injured hand, which was covered in cuts and was moderately burned, into her own hands. She closed her eyes as she concentrated on his hand, using the force. Energy glowed around his hand. He watched in amazement as the pain slowly went away.

When Ahsoka withdrew her hands and opened her eyes, she watched as Lux opened and closed his hand.

"So... how did I do?" Ahsoka asked.

"Unbelievable!" Lux exclaimed. "H-how?"

"Some Jedi learn how to become healers. Barriss was a Jedi healer. I ... picked up a few tricks from her," Ahsoka said, averting her eyes in contemplation.

Lux noticed that. "So, speaking of which, what was that... between you and Barriss?" He asked.

"What?" Ahsoka asked.

"I was just wondering what that was all about is all," Lux said.

"Well... Barriss and I were close friends in the Temple. We've fought in the War together, she gave me healing lessons, and we've studied together." Ahsoka paused for a moment. "We we also... close. We used to kiss one another. We would even have slumber parties where we would have pillow fights with some of the other girls."

Ahsoka smiled, neglecting to tell Lux how they would have the pillow fights while half-naked. Her breasts were getting so big back then that her bra snapped off during the fight. Barriss' too. Which would then led to some... naughty actions afterward with the others.

She continued.

"I guess her betraying me set something off deep inside of her. Maybe she wanted us to be more than friends again... even if it means selling ours souls to serve a rotten cause."

"Do you think that she was right... about the Jedi, I mean?"

"Maybe... " Ahsoka answered with uncertainty, thinking of her trial, "But I don't think that her methods were right".

For a few moments, the two of them ate their rations in silence. They eventually finished, putting their ration cans off to the side.

That's when Lux smirked.

"What?" Ahsoka asked.

"So... you like girls too?" Lux asked, interested.

Ahsoka just stared at him with a scowl. Then she sighed. "A little. But don't tell anyone." She siad as she punched his arm.

"Okay, Okay." Lux said as he rubbed his arm, and raised his other hand. But that didn't stop him from asking his next question. "So ... Did you have any other crushes back in the day?" Lux asked, not wanting to let go of the conversation.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes before she looked at Lux.

 _'Typical boys: Always trying to find out who their opposition was in the never ending duel for a girl's heart._ '

"I'm not sure that's any of your business."

"Come on, I'm just curious," Lux said, egging her on.

"Uhhhhhh! If you must know, yes. I've had a couple of other crushes in the past; both were very brief. A Twi'lek pod racer from Mon Gazza, and a human mechanic who lived and worked in the Coruscant underworld when I lived down there for a little while, just after leaving the order."

She smiled, thinking of another crush that she was embarrassed to admit. One that she had on her old Master.

"Now what about you, Mr. Bonteri?" She mocked while punching his arm.

Lux chuckled, rubbing his arm where she punched him. "Other than you and Steela? A couple. But they had the same problem".

Ahsoka was confused. "And what was that?"

Lux put on a more serious face. "They weren't you or Steela".

Ahsoka's eye brows shot up to her forehead. She watched as Lux lied down on the sleeping bag he found in the escape pod. He stretched back and lied down flat on the bag, looking up at the stars, with his hands clasped behind his head.

She couldn't help but feel like she struck a nerve with this conversation, so she decided to give him some comfort. A few seconds later, Lux felt Ahsoka lying down right next to him, scooting in as close as she could to him. She rested her head on his left arm and rested one of her hands on his chest.

"Well ... at least we have a chance to catch our breath," Ahsoka said, not just referring to escaping Barriss' clutches, but also to have a chance to evaluate their ' _will they-won't they'_ relationship.

Lux smiled, took his left hand, and began to gently run his fingertips up and down Ahsoka's lekku. The sensation made Ahsoka shiver, and she began to purr. The togrutan teen scooted up as close as she could, enjoying the comfort of his closeness.

They looked at the sunset, which cast an orange glow on the blue sky. The orange light reflected off of the sparkling pool in front of them. The chirps of the singing bugs and birds echoed throughout the forest on the other side of the pond, which had a creek that ran through it, starting at the waterfall.

"Hmm. I see why you wanted to come here," Lux said. "It's quite beautiful here".

Ahsoka nodded and smiled.

"I had hoped it would be".

"How did you know it was here?"

Ahsoka continued looking at the setting sun.

"I saw it right before we crashed," she said.

Lux chuckled.

"Wow! Togrutan people must have very good eye sight," he stated.

"Mmm hmm. Best in the galaxy," Ahsoka said, with her eyes still closed, referring to her people's perfect senses.

"Well, did ' _the best eye sight in the galaxy_ ' happen to miss the settlement three miles from our crash site?"

Ahsoka abruptly turned her head to face him.

"What?! When did you know?"

He met her scowl. "When we flew right over it". He said.

Ahsoka stared daggers into Lux's eyes. But Lux couldn't help getting lost in her crystalline ones. The staring contest lasted for a few more seconds before Ahsoka sighed. "Alright. I mislead us because I wanted to take the long route okay?"

"Why?" Lux asked.

He noticed her blush.

"Because ... I wanted to spend more time with you out here," Ahsoka said as she lied down on top of Lux, resting her face on his chest, trying to hide her blushing face.

Lux was dumbstruck at first, being taken off guard by Ahsoka's sudden outburst. But then he smiled and held the small of her back with one hand while petting her rear head tail with the other.

"Ahsoka...it's alright. I don't mind".

Ahsoka looked up from his chest. "Re-really?" She asked.

"Of course. After all, you know how much I love spending time with you. Think of this as our first date," Lux said.

' _Come to think of it, it was like a first date. I got to see Ahsoka. We got captured together by the same crazy person. We escaped together after one of us rigged the ship to blow, and now we're camping out under the setting sun, near a pond, and having dinner near a fire. What could make a better first date for the two of us, considering everything that we've been through?_ ' Lux thought to himself.

Ahsoka fully lifted her face from his jacket and looked at him, pressing her palms against his pecks to prop herself up. They gazed into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity.

"You're the best Luxie".

Before Lux could reply, he felt Ahsoka's soft lips on his cheek. The unexpected kiss stunned him.

His cheeks turned red.

A few seconds later, Ahsoka's lips left his cheeks with a _smooch_ sound. The devious little togrutan rests her head back down on Lux's chest. She heard Lux's heartbeat thumping against her head. His soft breaths pushed her head up and down. The total bliss that she was feeling caused her Lekku to begin purring again. They stayed that way for a while, enjoying the warmth and comfort of each other's presence.

"So, are you going to come back to Coruscant with me?" Lux asked.

Ahsoka propped herself up and looked down at him with daggers in her eyes. "No!" Ahsoka exclaimed.

Lux noticed the venom in her voice.

"Wait a minute, where's this coming from?"

"It's coming from Coruscant. You know, the place that I tried to leave two days ago?" Ahsoka asked. "I don't want to go back. Not now".

Lux was stunned for a few seconds.

"Huh! You know, this is just like our conversation above Carlac. Only our positions are flipped," Lux said, pointing out the irony. "Why don't you tell me what's wrong, other than your conviction?"

She rolled over onto her side, propped herself up on her right elbow, and placed her other hand on Lux's chest, while staring at him with her crystalline eyes.

"Don't you sometimes get tired of this war, Lux? Times where you just want to... run away and stay someplace beautiful? Grow old and die in peace?"

Ahsoka's outburst caught Lux off guard. He was shocked by how Ahsoka, a strong and resilient girl, was so... shaken. But then he remembered, despite the fact that she was a warrior, she was also young.

 _'Hell...Jedi or not...she killed someone when she was just three. THREE! That messes up most people._ ' Lux thought to himself, remembering a story that Ahsoka once told him while they were conversing on Raxus after they first met.

"Of course I do, Ahsoka," Lux said as his recent life tragedies began to pull themselves to the front of his thoughts. Including the death of is father, his mother, and Steela. Right now, he would do anything...anything...to run away and live a peaceful life with Ahsoka. "But... I think that you're overreacting".

Ahsoka stared into Lux's soul when he said that.

"Am I? Ever since I was three years old, I've shed blood, sweat, and tears trying to become a Jedi Knight, and Serve the Republic. I've survived being, electrocuted, the vacuum of space, blaster burns, blows to the head, explosions, and the loss of a lot of my friends. And to top it all off, the Republic I fought to protect, and the JEDI ORDER that I followed without question, accused me of a crime that I didn't commit, and they were going to execute me. If anything... I'm under-reacting. Oh, and I haven't even gotten to the part where a crazy ex-best friend of mine tracked me across the galaxy, trampled on my home planet, and threatened to kill you and my people, molest me while I was in bondage, and then make me into one Dooku's pawns!"

Lux was, once again, speechless, escpecially when he heard the part about Barriss molesting her... wait, what?

Ashoka's stern look disappeared before tears started to well up in her eyes. That's when she dropped her head onto Lux's chest, before she began to sob into his jacket.

Her 'boyfriend(?)' placed his arms around her and held her tight against himself.

"Shhshhshhshhshhshhhhh! It's all right Ahsoka. Just let it all out," Lux said comfortingly as he ran one hand up and down her back, and rested the other one on her Lekku. "I'm sure that not all of the Jedi are like what you said a few seconds ago. I'm sure most of them felt heart-broken when you were accused, just as I am right now".

A few minutes later, she stopped sobbing and she sniffled.

"I'm sorry Lux...I, I usually don't-".

"You're strong..." he interrupted. "...more so than I have ever realized. But that doesn't mean that you need to bottle everything up. It's alright to be afraid. _Everyone_ is afraid. And I know that you're at an uncertain point in your life. But as long as you keep your fear in check, and not let it keep _you_ in check, then you'll be fine".

Ahsoka looked at Lux with her wet face and sniffed again.

"Thanks Luxie."

Then she smiled. And Lux smiled back.

"Can...can we stay like this for a while?" Ahsoka asked shyly as she cuddled up even closer to Lux. "Please?"

Lux looked at the beautiful, and currently fragile girl cuddling with him. Her petite body was pressed against him, as well as her curvaceous hips and voluptuous bust, which pressed against his chest. Her bottom lip stuck out and curled down in a pouty look.

The young senator couldn't say no for two reasons. **1** : Because he didn't want to, after seeing Ahsoka in her fragile state. And because **_2_** , _in all honesty_ , this is what he's wanted from her since the day they met.

He looked into her teary and crystalline eyes, with his own. They gazed into each other's souls as they always did whenever they were together.

"Of course Ahsoka".

With those words, Ahsoka rested her head on Lux's chest. Her Lekku made a purring noise, showing that she was experiencing pure bliss at the moment. They stayed that way for a little while, as the sun continued to set, as if signaling the end of their friendship, and the beginning of something new.

Something wonderful.

* * *

 _Lux's pov_.

The sun is standing much lower than it was earlier when I open my eyes again.

' _Wait...was I sleeping?_ '

I feel a soft pressure on me and I look down.

Ahsoka isn't sleeping like I was. She had her elbows on the ground and her hands rested on my pecks, as she lied on top of me and propped herself up to look down at me. Although, I must say... she's looking _much_ more cheerful than earlier.

"Good morning Luxie," she greeted me with a broad, mischievous smile.

"I'm sorry Ahsoka, I didn't mean to fall asleep like this on our ... **_first date_** ".

She continued to look at me with her broad smile, her pair of beautiful crystalline pools sparkling all the while.

"Hm...does that mean you owe me something?" She asked as she gently scratched her finger down against my jacket.

 _'Well this is unexpected'_.

"Uhhhm, well...er," I stumbled before finally spitting it out. "I...I guess I do. Anything specific that you want to do?"

Ahsoka smiled.

Then she got up from me, stood up and stretched. When she did, I couldn't help but look at how her nipples pierced through the material of her tight gray top that hugged her busty, and comely breasts incredibly well, as well as her tight stomach.

 _'Like it or not Lux, you're under her spell'_ , I thought to myself.

'You could say that," Ahsoka said when she was done stretching. "It's pretty moist out here, and it's making me kind of sweaty," she said as she kicked her boots off. "So what do you say Luxie...up for a swim?" Ahsoka finished as she starting removing her silver arm braces.

I thought about it.

"A swim? Sure, I could do with a - wait, what are you doing?" I asked as she reached for the collar of her shirt.

 _Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzip_.

I gawk at my crush as slowly, ever so slowly, the zip fastener on her skintight shirt began to open as she dragged the pull tab, which slowly crawled down her chest, allowing me to see her shining orange skin, exposed to the damp air that caressed her skin.

"Undressing of coarse".

The pull tab reached her navel and as it slid down further, and then I saw her pulling at her suit from the sides. Finally, the tension became too strong, and her suit began to slide. I could hear my heart thundering in my head as i watched.

The seam of Ahsoka's shirt brushed against her nipples.

"Unless you expect me to jump into the lake fully dressed?"

Ahsoka breasts plopped out of the suit with a soft sound and they happily danced as they escaped their sticky prison.

My eyes stared at her gravity-defying breasts before they latched onto her nipples, which were as dark as her lips, and were still jiggling with excitement. Her already large breasts looked bigger than they actually were, being wider than her slender waist, but about as wide, and eye catching, as her hips and rump.

"Are you shy, Luxie?"

I yanked my eyes away from my crush's chest to make eye contact with her.

"N-no!" I say, my voice cracking, before I clear my throat to speak again, "Of course not," I say as I get up and begin to shed my own clothing.

Ahsoka is wearing her famous crooked smile as she watches me remove my shirt and throw it to the ground, revealing my torso.

 _'Don't look at me like that, it was your idea Ahsoka'_.

Ahsoka turns around, her back facing me, and she continues to discard her clothing.

She took her unzipped shirt off, completely, and tossed it aside carelessly before she started to push her pants down as well, slowly revealing her butt cheeks. Ahsoka's cheeks were pulled down and released from the confined space in her tight, light brown pants, making them quiver. She bent over to pull her pants and socks off of her ankles, giving me a glimpse of her... full moon.

As she straightens back up, I look away.

I continue to shed my clothing. But it's getting difficult, as my hands begin to shake violently. My heart's racing. Adrenaline is coursing through my veins. Sweat begins to make me glisten.

 _And it's definitely not because of the warm air._

I've taken off all of my clothes except my boxers.

I look back and I notice that Ahsoka is also trying to sneak glances at me. She looks back at the lake when my eyes glanced over to her.

So here we are... almost completely naked in the woods.

 _'Is she really planning to go through with this?'_ I ask myself.

And as if fate was hearing every thought that came across my mind, I glance over my shoulder in time to see her walking towards the lake.

My mouth was agape as she stood naked in the forest, completely exposed to the elements.

 _'Not to mention my gaze'_.

As she walked, her fiery breasts gently bobbing in an enticing manner as she walked. Her butt cheeks slowly moved up and down with every step that she took. When she got to the edge of the pond, she just stood there for a few seconds before she dove into the pond.

* * *

 _Ahsoka's pov_.

I jumped off of the rocky ledge.

My arms were pointed above my hand and as I dove down, my hands penetrated the water.

I land where it's deep. Too deep to stand, and I am immediately submerged.

A huge splash exploded from the pond surface above me, and before I knew it, I'm deep under water, feeling pure bliss.

From the tips of my montrals to the tips of my toes, the warm pond water, which had been under the beating summer sun all day, embraced every inch of my body. It was all so relaxing, that I almost forgot how to swim.

I shot up and broke through the surface. I swam back to where I jumped in and found a submerged outcropping that I could stand on. My feet made contact with the outcropping, and I walked back to the edge of the pond until everything above my waist was exposed for Luxie to see.

Lux was still standing there in his boxers... noticeably staring at my chest. Just one more piece of clothing, and we're both in a state of nature. I stand at the edge of the pond, my torso still on full display.

"Come on Lux, what are you waiting for? The water's perfect".

Lux is blushing fiercely, frozen with fear, like a little boy with stage fright. But then he grasps his boxers and pulls them down.

 _'My turn to stare Luxie'_.

* * *

 _Normal pov_.

As the young senator began to take his boxers off, Ahsoka was resting her elbows on the edge to prop up her chin as she watched with interest. When his boxers fell, Ahsoka's eyes were fixed on his crotch, her gaze piercing through his body. Lux tried to move towards the pond, but he was still too shy to move.

 _'Come on Bonteri, you'd better get into the pond with her before ... too late'_.

Ahsoka was disappointed at first when all she saw was a limp worm, but then her eyes widened as Lux's dangling member grew. But instead of averting her attention, she continues to stare as the limp worm began to grow into something longer, harder... and more massive.

She puckered her lips and smirked before she rolled her eyes off to the left, blushing fiercely. She then made eye contact with Lux.

 _'So that's what an erect cock looks like. It'll do nicely. Mmmmh, very nicely'_.

"Uhm ... Lux?" Ahsoka asked before she closed her eyes. She clasped her hands behind her head and pushed her breasts out, obviously showing off. "Does that mean you ... like what you see?" Ahsoka asked.

Lux's mouth clapped open.

His 7 in' cock twitched as his eyes feasted upon Ahsoka's plump, D-Cup breasts, her slender waist, and the way the disappearing sun shined off of the water, making her moist orange skin shine with a golden glow. Ahsoka continued to endure Lux's impolite ogling with a heavy blush.

"I...uh, well, uhhhh...er," Lux stuttered.

Ahsoka opened one of her eyes to look at him and then she put her arms back down.

"Hm ... I guess not," she said, acting disappointed.

Lux was caught off guard and abruptly ripped from his trance.

"Oh no no no no no, I... they're soooo, uhhhhh," Lux stammered.

"Luxie, relax," she cooed innocently. "I'm only playing around."

The Onderonian senator drew in a deep breath, and collected himself (what was left of himself anyway).

"You-you're a very ... healthy, beautiful girl, Ahsoka," Lux finally managed to say. "Please, don't misinterpret my, er ... bodily reaction. I'm just reacting to your ... in-incredible beauty. Er...wait. I..." he said before he dropped his forehead into his fist. "... I mean-"

Ahsoka was smiling when she held up her hand, motioning for him to quiet down.

' _Yeah. To keep me from saying anything stupid.'_ Lux thought to himself.

"Thank you Lux," Ahsoka said. She finally averted her eyes from Lux's... state of nature, and began to happily play with her Lekku. "Now...why don't you come join me?"

Lux was as stiff (pun intended) as a statue.

"Join you?" He asked under his breath. Then the realization slapped him across the face. "O-oh! Right. That's why we...undressed. Right. Alright".

He tries to think of something else as he walks towards the water, but all of his thoughts go right back to Ahsoka's breasts.

 _'Damnit Bonteri!'_ He mentally shouts at himself.

Ahsoka leaned against the edge of the lake, her bust pressing against the rocky ledge. She bit her lips as she watched Lux, admiring his pecks and abs, which rippled with muscle from his time as a rebel. She also looked at how his hardened cock bobbed up and down, and then she imagined it sliding very, very, deeply inside of her. She closed her eyes and moaned lightly so that Lux couldn't hear her.

Lux took his first steps into the water. But he was in the shallow end. Ahsoka rolled her eyes and groaned.

' _Okay... this is taking too long_ ,' Ahsoka thought to herself as she raised her hands and used the force.

Lux was lifted into the air and thrown about 10 feet away.

"Gyyyeaahhh!"

Ahsoka's victim shouted as he landed in the pond's deep end, causing a powerful splash.

He emerged a few seconds later, thrashing his arms, uttering colorful curse words, and dripping with water.

"What was that?!" He exclaimed as he looked around.

Ahsoka giggled.

She was leaning her back against the pond's rocky edge, resting her outstretched arms on the rocky ledge on either side of her.

"Having fun?"

"Ahsoka!" The now soaked Lux exclaimed, spitting out pond water

"You should've been faster Luxie," she said innocently.

He smiles, but there's also fire in his eyes.

"Oh, ho ho! You're in trouble now Ahsoka!"

She heard a splash come from a few feet away. But her eyes were closed, so she didn't see the wave of water that hit her in the face.

Ahsoka yelped.

But after she was soaked, she dove away from the ledge and under the surface to avoid Lux's next wave.

She swam towards him, closing the distance between them. She broke through the surface in front of him and the splashing war began.

There would be no surrender or mercy from either of them.

* * *

After a glorious water battle that left no clear winner, Ahsoka and Lux laughed as they continued swimming around.

Eventually, their nude and exhausted bodies drifted close to each other.

"And to think that I almost missed out on this..." Lux breathed out as he drifted on his back.

"You missed out on a lot of things with me. Maybe you should start listening to me more often".

Lux shakes his head at her smart-alec remark.

 _'Hmm, although maybe there's merit to her...words of wisdom'._

"Aaah," Ahsoka sighed as she continued floating. "So relaxing".

She spreadeagled her legs and waved them back together, just to feel the water wash over her smooth skin.

They drifted close to each other. Lux could see her breasts break the water as she comes closer. With a quick glance at her chest, he noticed that her nipples had grown hard from the water, which had became a bit colder without the direct sunlight to warm it up anymore.

It caused something of his to grow beneath the water. And not because it was cold. Rather, because it was warm. Quite warm. Intensely warm. Surface of the sun warm.

They blushed when the distance between them was closed significantly.

"Lux?"

His heart began to beat at a faster rate in his ribcage.

"Yes Ahsoka?"

She pointed to the rocks on the other side of the pond, about 150 or 180 feet away.

"Race you to those rocks over there? Winner gets to ask something of the loser".

Lux looked at the rocks. Then he looked at Ahsoka, who was smiling. He blushed even more deeply.

"Uh, uhh, I, uhm. I'm not sure," he stuttered.

"What? Are you afraid to lose? Has being a senator made you soft?"

Lux's stood up straight and steeled himself as he looked her in the eye.

"Are you mocking me?"

Ahsoka kept smirking.

"What if I am, Luxie?"

Lux recoiled and smirked as he shook his head.

"HAHAHAH! Bring. It. On, _Snips_ ".

Ahsoka turned to Lux, and scowled at him, upon hearing him use Master Skywalker's childish nickname for her.

 _'How'd he know that? Dammit Skyguy!'_ Ahsoka thought to herself.

"Ooooh, now it's personal Bonteri".

Seconds later, when they were both ready, the race started.

When it did, Ahsoka propelled everything she had into the race. She used her arms, her legs, even the force, sense she was determined to win this contest, she already had a wager in mind for when she won. On the other hand, Lux lagged behind. Partly because he didn't know what he would ask her if he won. And he was afraid of what Ahsoka would ask her when she won.

 _'Well, better the devil you know, than the devil you don't know'_.

With that in mind, Lux swam forward as fast as he could, but not too slow to make it look like he wasn't trying.

Moments later, she reached the other side of the pond.

She laughed and pumped her fist into the air.

"Ha! Take that Bonteri!" She triumphantly cheered.

"Well, jolly fine work Ahsoka," he sarcastically praised her while mockingly clapping his hands together repeatedly. "You win."

"Hmm, speaking of which...to the victor go the spoils".

Lux looked at her with a mixture of anxiety and curiosity.

"Well...that's what we agreed to." Lux conceded. "Now...what does the victor want?"

Ahsoka smiled and blushed, but she was nervous as well.

 _'Wow! Can a beating heart really be this loud?'_ She asked herself.

"A ... a hug and a kiss from the loser," she said.

For Ahsoka, time seemed to freeze in place.

But Lux literally freezes, with his mouth agape. He stops treading water, causing him to sink. When he does, water runs into his open mouth, causing him so regain his strength and cough out the water.

Ahsoka smiles and giggles.

Lux has kissed Ahsoka a couple times before ... but never while naked.

 _'In my dreams maybe, but those don't count'_.

"A-*gulp*-are you sure?"

Ahsoka swam closer to him.

"Sure. Just a playful little peck on the cheek. I'm **_sure_** you wouldn't mind".

Ashoka was trying to sound strong and seductive, but her voice cracks ever so slightly. Lux was still hesitating. She turns around and crosses her arms over her chest, smashing her huge jugs together in the process.

"I...I just want to be reminded that hope can prevail through these dark times," Ahsoka says, her eyes welling up a little with fake tears.

"Ahsoka..."

She feels his hands on her arms. He turns her around and pulls her towards him.

They gaze into each other's eyes.

Ahsoka smiles.

 _About time Luxie_.

She turns her cheek towards him and closes her eyes.

Lux leans in and presses his lips against her soft cheek. The kiss was longer than he intended. He then pulled her into his embrace.

Ahsoka rests her head on Lux's shoulders and tightens her grip on him.

His cock began to twitch again as it rubbed against her stomach.

 _'Oh dear God, I hope she doesn't notice',_ Lux thought.

But she did. And not only did she notice it ... she was enjoying it.

Lux's dick continued to twitch.

If he didn't want to have an accident on her stomach, then he needed to think of something quickly.

"Ahsoka?"

She continues resting her head on his shoulder.

"Mmm-hmm?" She moans.

"Rematch?" Lux asked. Ahsoka picked her head back up and looked him in the eye. Her hands were still on his shoulders. She looks at him in deep thought for a few moments. Until she finally answers.

"Alright," she finally says. "Where to?"

Lux pointed to the other side of the pond. It was their starting point, and where they first entered the pond after stripping.

She looked back at him.

"You're on," she says.

The two of them got into position again and the race started. Only this time, Lux grabbed Ahsoka by her shoulders, turned around so that she was behind him, and got a head start. He swam as fast as he could across the pond with Ahsoka lagging behind.

 _Is she trying to lose?_ Lux thought.

She was, actually.

Lux got to the other end of the pond, where they had discarded their clothes earlier. He stood on the submerged outcropping that Ahsoka stood on earlier, at the edge of the pond. So that he could stand in the water. Ahsoka joined him seconds later, but decided to tread water instead of standing with him.

"Looks like I win this time," Lux said.

Ahsoka looked at her.

"Looks like it. So...what are your demands Luxie?" She purred softly.

Lux inhaled sharply as her seductive eyes, and voice, cast their spell on him ... again.

He smiled and leaned back against the rocky ledge.

"Hmmm. How about a hug and a kiss from the loser?" He asked.

It was the same thing that Ahsoka requested from him earlier.

Ashoka's eyes widen in surprise.

 _Clever Luxie...very clever_.

Then she smiled and swam closer, until she was able to stand on the outcropping with him.

Like Lux, everything above her waist was exposed to the elements.

Her skin was wet, and the increasingly cold water made her shiver. But then she pushed her front head-tails behind her shoulders, wrapped her arms around Lux's neck, and pulled herself tightly against his chest. Her soft, yet firm breasts acted as cushions between them. His scrotum pushed against her flower, and his erect dick twitched as it rubbed against Ahsoka's lean and fiery stomach again. He wasn't sure if she noticed, which she did, but she sure wasn't making an effort to move away.

"Alright. An embrace..." Ahsoka whispers before she brings her face very close to Lux's. "...and a kiss".

She tilted her head and quickly planted her soft and hot lips on his cheek. Lux smiled, feeling good about himself.

 _'Mission accomplished'_.

But then he noticed that her kiss was longer than his own.

Her lips eventually left his cheek with a 'smoosh' sound. But Lux was surprised when she pressed her soft and pert lips against his other cheek, giving it the same attention.

He knew that this wasn't apart of the wager. He didn't know whether to stop her or see where this was going.

After a few seconds of cradling his cheekbone with her lips, she withdrew them and went up to his forehead. He was completely caught off guard when she planted a third kiss there. But he sighed as he felt all of his stressful thoughts seemingly wash away from his mind, if only for a few moments.

When Ahsoka finally withdrew from his forehead, she met him at eye level and they looked at each other. Then, her lips met his in perfect caressing unity.

The kiss lasted for who knows how long. For a few moments, Lux had forgotten who he was and why he was there. He was only focused on Ahsoka. He hadn't puckered or even moved his lips.

She broke the kiss and looked into his eyes. Tears, real ones this time, were beginning to well up in them. He met her gaze as well. They looked deeply into each other's souls. Ahsoka could see the pain from Lux's hardships in his eyes, but hope and joy as well. He, it turn, could see the pain that she experienced from the war, her betrayal, and her own share of hardships, some of which Lux had contributed. But he was able to give her the happiness that he could see in her eyes.

"Luxie?"

"Yes?"

"I... I luh-," she blushed and averted her eyes.

"Yes?" Lux asked again, nodding his head, somewhat anxiously.

She tried to look back at him, but averted her eyes again, blushing even harder. On her final attempt, her cheeks burned and her eyes welled up.

"I love you".

Lux's mouth fell open.

But before he could say anything, she smashed her lips against his again, just as the setting sun placed it's orange and red rays on the young couple before it finally disappeared over the horizon. Ahsoka even tightened her grip on him, pressing her stomach even harder against his twitching erection, and her chest against his.

 _'She loves me? She loves me! Yeeehahah!_ ' Lux thought as celebratory fireworks went off in his head.

Lux surrendered to his new girlfriend's hold on him and puckered his lips with her's. He placed one hand on the small of her back, and placed the other one in the crevice between her neck and her rear head tail, pulling her deeper into the kiss.

The star-crossed lovers, still naked and floating, were eventually caught in a weak current that pushed them to the shallow end of the pond. They washed up on the bank that led into the pond. They were still kissing and embracing, with Ahsoka on top and Lux beneath her. They were both still in shallow water, which was pushed onto the soil and pulled away towards the water due to the tide. The water disappeared beneath them, before washing back, putting them in three inch deep water.

Ahsoka's grip on Lux is tighter than his grip on her, and she's refusing to let go.

Lux breaks the kiss and look's into her eyes, which are teary.

"Ahsoka..."

"If you tell me to get off now, I'll kill you..." she threatened.

Lux's eyes widened in fear, but his dick stiffened even harder, finding her threatening tone to be somewhat erotic. It continued to rub against her belly, the hot, wet, and smooth skin feeling wonderful against his twitching cock.

"But..."

"But nothing!" Ahsoka said before she rested her head on Lux's chest.

They stayed that way for a few minutes. Lux petted Ahsoka's Lekku, which were making a purring noise from the pure bliss that she was experiencing.

He then kissed the tip of one of her montrals.

"I love you Ahsoka," he said.

Ahsoka's tears dripped off of her nose and onto Lux's pecks. But being wet, he hardly noticed.

"Mmmmh. I Love you too Luxie," she breathed against his chest while scratching her fingertips against his abs. "Hmmm. You know...you owe me quite a few life debts, Luxie. I think it's time for you cash in".

Lux thought back to all of the life-threatening times she was there when he needed her the most. Mandalore, Carlac, Onderon, Shili's capital building, and Barriss' warship, who's debris field continued to float in geo-sync orbit above them.

"Is there anyway I can make it up to you?"

Ahsoka raised her head to look at Lux with her clear blue eyes.

"What did you have in mind?" Ahsoka asked, with a devious smirk stretched across her face.

He looked into her eyes. Sense they were both naked and embracing, the answer that Lux wanted to say seemed too obvious, and a little rude. So he gave a more chivalrous answer

"Whatever your heart desires. I am but a humble servant, enslaved to do whatever you wish," Lux said poetically.

Ahsoka smiled and blushed. She averted her eyes before looking back down at him.

She then pulled herself up by Lux's shoulders, sliding her smooth orange skin up his body, until their eyes were aligned. The motion also caused her to slide and push her large breasts even more firmly against Lux's chest. And her belly rubbed against his hardened, twitching cock.

 _'My God ... I really hope that I don't have an accident on her stomach. Although on second thought_...'

"In... in that case..." she said while blushing even harder. "...don't resist".

And with that, she dove down and smashed her lips against Lux's in a hot kiss that seemed to burn his mouth. He felt like his lips were going to melt inside of her's.

Eventually, her soft lips retreated. Lux looked up at her at until he nearly drowned in the two crystal blue pools that were her eyes.

She smiled down at him. And without saying a word, Ahsoka closed her eyes and kissed Lux again. He opened his mouth, in order to let her into his mouth, deepening the kiss between them. He pulls her tightly into his embrace. He continued to kiss her passionately, savoring the feeling of her smooth skin on his body.

Ahsoka hadn't felt this way about a man since Anakin. She had a crush on him back when she wore a tube top and a skirt. But then she moved on _(He was with Padme anyway, as she discovered recently on a mission)_. She had her thing with those two boys, but then they drifted apart as quickly as they became close.

But then, there was Lux, who awoke something that Ahsoka never knew that she could feel. This is something that Ahsoka played out in her mind a thousand times over. Something that she'd only dreamed of since she knew that she loved Lux.

 _'No one can have you. No one. Not Steela, or any other girl who ever liked you. You're all mine. Mine!'_

They continued to attack each other's lips in an increasingly passionate manner, hungry to devour each other.

When they broke the kiss and opened their eyes, Lux rolled them over so that he was on top of her. She had her hands on his shoulders as she smiled up at him. He smiled back flirtatiously.

 _'No going back now. We're both insane. Hopelessly insane ... and it's intoxicating,'_ Lux thought to himself, before a pang of fear travelled up his spine when he thought about Ahsoka's father.

"Ahsoka, your father cannot find out about this," Lux instructed very carefully. Ahsoka raised one eye brow higher than the other and looked at Lux.

"Oh, but Luxie. Why wouldn't I tell my overly protective father about how the outsider, that he disapproves of, did many, many inappropriate things to his long lost daughter?" Ahsoka asked sarcastically with a pouty face.

"I'm no stranger to sarcasm Ahsoka," Lux said.

"You're clearly no stranger to waisting time with stupid questions either. Now..." Ahsoka said, before she closed her eyes as she leaned back, and stretched her arms over her head, pressing them to the soil in a submissive, yet erotic pose. "...Do whatever you want with me," she whispered softly.

The Onderonian senator smiled and looked down.

The young and beautiful Togrutan's lungs very gently moved her plump breasts up as they filled up with air, and back down as they emptied. Up and down. Up and down. In response to her heaving chest, Lux noticed, Ahsoka's rock-had orange nipples were impatiently dancing in small and subtle, yet erotic, circles.

No longer worried, Lux reached out to touch his lover.

"Ah!"

The young Togruta twitched involuntarily, being just as anxious and nervous as Lux was. The tension of making love in the middle of the woods near a chilly pond had gotten the better of her.

Lux looked into Ahsoka's eyes, those big sparkling spheres of crystalline joy, and gently, as if cradling something incredibly fragile, placed his hands on Ahsoka, and cupped her orange breasts before gently massaging them. Even exposed like this and in the shallow edge a chilly pond, his lover felt very warm.

He leaned in and pressed his lips against Ahsoka's, in a deeply passionate kiss. Ahsoka moaned as Lux began to playfully nibble her soft lips. As he used his tongue to penetrate her lips, Ahsoka coiled her arms around Lux's neck to pull him deeper into the kiss, burying her fingertips in his luscious hair. He continued running his hands up and down her body, rubbing his fingertips against her skin until they cradled her soft breasts again.

"Mmmmh!" Ahsoka moaned against Lux's lips, and twitched as she felt his hands gently massage her chest. She doesn't resist. Instead, she continued devouring Lux's lips as he massaged her plump, feminine perks. The human male pushed, pulled, and squashed, sinking his fingers deep into her breasts, molding the big tits, all while still kissing her.

He ended the kiss and slowly travelled down her body. She hummed to herself as he continued his gripping massage. Lux then let his hands glide from her breasts up to her wrists, and grasped them, carefully pressing them onto the soil beneath them.

Ahsoka was at his mercy.

He leaned closer and Ahsoka's soft breasts pushed against him. Lux kissed Ahsoka's long slender neck, usually hidden behind her bodysuit's turtle neck and two head tails, which were both still pushed behind Ahsoka's shoulders. As always, Ahsoka smelled sweet and spicy.

Lux began to plant kisses on Ahsoka's neck. She tilted her head back to that he could latch onto her jugular notch better, which he began to explore with his tongue.

Ahsoka had tilted her head back and was moaning in pleasure, her eyes squinted shut. She was sighing and gasping in the cutest way possible.

He then parted her legs with one of his own, before rubbing his erection against her crotch. She moaned as pleasurable shivers began to spread throughout her body.

Lux trailed his lips down Ahsoka's body. He planted wet kisses on her neck, her collarbone, and in the valley between her breasts. As he pinched her nipples, Lux rubbed his head back and forth between the two mounds of soft flesh.

Ahsoka continued to twitch and sigh, her eyes squeezed shut.

Her new lover then planted his lips on her breasts to suck on them, relentlessly attacking the hardened and rubbery bud with his tongue.

"Ah! AAHH!" Ahsoka gasped, as Lux continued to suck on her nipple.

He continued to knead her soft ... very soft ... breasts with both hands and suck on one of the coral-like tips with his mouth.

"Ah! Luxie...AAHH!" She continued to sigh.

Encouraged by her adorable reactions, Lux withdrew his lips from her breast, before pushing his face into the other one to give it the same treatment.

Ahsoka continued to gasp in pleasure as her crush ... _No! Her lover ..._ continued to ravage her breasts.

She victim twitched, but she didn't protest.

Ahsoka moved her hands up and began to stroke Lux's hair, while also keeping his head where it was. Something that Lux didn't want her to stop.

"Ah!"

Ahsoka gasped when her Onderonian lover gently bit her nipple, before quickly continuing to suck on it, as if it were candy ... a very _erotic_ candy.

"Lux ... that... nh!"

Spurred on by the adorable reactions, Lux used his tongue to play with the 'candy' a bit longer, then pulled his head back to release the orange melon from his mouth.

He straddled Ahsoka's hips, and then reached his hand back out, thoroughly kneading that same breast with one hand, while using his thumb to play with the hard nipple, which was now more sensitive due to his caress but also glistening from his saliva.

Lux smiled down at Ahsoka - long enough for her to fully anticipate what was going to happen. That's when she saw him lean back down and push his face into the other boob, proceeding to give it the same treatment, while still kneading the first one with his strong hand.

Ahsoka's breaths grew deeper the longer Lux played with her breasts, and after much too long a period of hesitation, she finally allowed herself to be heard.

"Ah..."

The moan was very soft, almost inaudible, but Lux didn't miss it.

Lux smirked, then used his chin to force Ahsoka's up to kiss the exposed orange neck. A soft growl escaped Ahsoka as she leaned her head back and opened her mouth, showing her species' sharp canine teeth. Her people were predators, and this showed in her on every battlefield that she ever set foot on.

Deliberately slow, he slid down - pausing occasionally to kiss her orange belly, making her giggle - until his tongue reached Ahsoka's navel. He let his tongue play with it for a bit while he grasped Ahsoka's hips with his hands, before he tilted his head to look up.

The young Togruta was hiding her mouth behind her fist, while also nibbling on one of her knuckles, silently begging Lux to move on.

 _'So cute..._ ' Lux thought before he dove down onto her crotch live a wild ruping, trying to find her lust center with his tongue.

Mission accomplished... thoroughly.

"UH! AAHH! Luuux!" Ahsoka gasped before she started twitching. Lux held her hips in order to keep her from twitching away from her.

Ahsoka twitches again and leans back in response to Lux's touch. She arched her back slightly. She hungrily fills her lungs up with air, which escapes her lips with an erotic sound.

"Nngh!" She gasped before she hummed to herself and closed her eyes before she nibbled on one of her fingers as more pleasure continued to spread throughout her body.

'Hhhhhhhhhh!' 'Hhhhhhhhhh!" Ahsoka gasps, her breasts heaving up and down with every breath.

Ahsoka began to grow wet, and she tried to relax her twitching body. But Lux didn't show any signs of stopping.

"Ah! AH! Lux," she breathed out softly. "Luuuuuux!"

As if spurred on by her arousing cries, the wet touch in her lap moved faster, more wildly.

Ahsoka began to rock her hips up and down into Lux's face, enhancing her pleasure. And suddenly, a powerful orgasm ripped through her body. The tension she had felt disappeared, along with her thoughts, as she began to drown in an endless sea of white pleasure.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!"

Lux sucked her flower dry, and when he was done, he saw that she had arched her back up and leaned her head back, moaning and panting in pleasure. He pulled himself up and brought his crotch closer to hers.

He could tell that she wanted more.

 _'That's good, because I've been ready for some time'_ , Lux thought to himself as he began to thrust his hips into her's.

He grunted and gasped in pleasure as he began to rock his hips into her's. Thinking that she might have a hymen membrane, he took it slow and steady, not wanting to cause her any pain. Ahsoka found it sweet and cute, that he didn't want to cause her any pain.

She threw her head back in pleasure, while pulling herself up to embrace Lux.

He soon noticed how easy it was for him to enter her. And he noticed that Ahsoka wasn't feeling any discomfort. Quite the contrary in fact. She gasped with every thrust.

"AH! AH! AAHH! AAHHHH!"

Lux began to rock his hips at a faster rate, pounding his erect member into her sweet spot in a fast, gentle, yet pleasurable, rhythm. He tries to pound as deeply as possible, trying to feel her incredible body more intensely.

They gazed into each others eyes. He then leaned down to kiss her. They embrace each other and kiss passionately, all while Lux continued to mercilessly thrust into her over and over and over again.

Ahsoka felt like crying as they made out ... and made love.

 _'Finally, finally, finally, finally...'_ Ahsoka shouted to herself.

As they kissed and embraced, she deepened the kiss, exploring Lux's mouth with her tongue, and enveloping his lips with her own. But then, she couldn't help but taste something strange. She could've sworn that she tasted her own juices inside Lux's mouth from when he ate her crotch out earlier.

 _'I'm tasting my own juices? Mmmmh, not bad'_ , Ahsoka thought to herself as she began to enjoy the taste of her own fluids in Lux's mouth.

She wrapped her legs around Lux's waist, in order to feel him relentlessly slide his hardened cock into her. The thought of Lux impregnating her caused her concerns to spike up for a second, but then she remembered that humans and togrutans weren't 100% compatible. Getting her pregnant was likely going to be difficult for Lux.

With her concerns gone, she went back to experiencing the pure bliss of her long time crush making passionate love to her.

But after a few moments of experiencing this new position, Ahsoka's strength failed her and she fell back on the ground, her arms on either side of her.

Noticing this, Lux stood up in a kneeling position, with Ahsoka's legs still wrapped around his waist. He was kneeling and holding Ahsoka's hips, while Ahsoka's shoulders were still on the ground. He then continued to mercilessly slam his hips into hers.

She leaned her head back and moaned in pleasure.

"Mmmmh! MMmmmmmhh!"

Though there's less skin contact between them, Ahsoka was completely at her cru-...lover's...mercy. In his kneeling position, he boldly thrusted his hips into hers, penetrating her deeply. He was moving so fast that Ahsoka felt like a machine was making love to her underneath that handsome exterior of his. Ahsoka just laid there, biting one of her fingers, and let her body be pushed around by Lux's thrusting motions, creating an enticing bobbing motion for her orange breasts.

"Ooh ... Force!"

After a few more moments, Lux leaned forward to go back into a lying down position, allowing himself to feel the satisfaction Ahsoka's warm soft body offered.

Ahsoka finds the strength to wrap her legs around Lux's waist again, just in time for her walls to tighten around his member and spill her juices onto his member. She moaned in ecstasy as orgasmic pleasure began to spread throughout every inch of her body. This caused him to stop his movements.

"Guh!" He grunted out with a final thrust, just as he felt a pleasurable sensation throb its way up his shaft and finally explode, deep inside of Ahsoka's nether regions.

She was amused by the expression on his face before she felt Lux shoot something warm and comfortable up her body. Ahsoka closed her eyes and gasped in deep pleasure. She arched her back, threw her head back, and pushed her breasts up into Lux's chest, their nipples meeting in an erotic embrace.

"Uh! Uh! UUUhhhh!" Ahsoka moaned as she tightened her grip on Lux.

When Lux was done unloading into his gasping and twitching lover, he collapsed on top of her, his head rested between her jugs. As Ahsoka breathed in heavily, her heaving chest gently pushed Lux's head up and down, and he listened to her racing, yet relaxing, heartbeat.

After a few minutes of resting, Lux pulled himself up and planted his lips against Ahsoka's. She moaned and opened her mouth to let him in and soon, they were kissing each oother very passionately, their lips smacking constantly.

They continued kissing until Lux rolled them over so that they were on their sides. Ahsoka broke the kiss and cuddled her head into Lux, who held her tightly against his chest. He could feel her Lekku purr vibrating against his pecks.

"You ... you were ... absolutely amazing," Lux said as he planted a few small kisses on her head tails, alternating between her blue and white stripes.

Ahsoka giggled and blushed. She then looked up at Lux.

"You're the one doing all the work Luxie..." she said before she brought one of her hands down and began to stroke Lux's cock. Lux closed his eyes and groaned a little in pleasure, as his cock grew hard in Ahsoka's hand. That's when she pushed him, rolled him onto his back and pressed her palms against his pecks.

He looked up at her in surprise.

"Uhm...Ahsoka-" He asked before Ahsoka shushed him by pushing her finger against his lips.

She leaned in next to his head.

"...maybe it's my turn to take over," she said seductively as she continued to stroke Lux's growing and hardening cock.

Lux let out a sigh as his ear melted in Ahsoka's erotic voice, and his cock began to quiver in her warm hands.

She then began to slide down his body, her stomach rubbing against his hard cock, letting him experience several wonderful sensations.

Ahsoka stopped when her breasts were level with his crotch. Lux looked down and noticed that his erection had disappeared between Ahsoka's warm and soft orange tits. He nearly lost it, sighing in pleasure as his pulsating cock began to leak out a small amount of pre-cum between her melons. She smiled up at him and blushed before she slid lower until her breasts were smashed against his upper thighs, and her face was level with his 7 in' erection.

She then leaned over his crotch and opened her mouth. Ahsoka looked up at her lover and started bobbing her head up and down on Lux's cock.

"Yeeessss," Lux sighs as he strokes Ahsoka's head-tails, making the orange teen alien moan into Lux's cock, sending vibrations along his shaft.

Ahsoka was starting off slow, but with each time she bobbed her head, she swallowed more and more of Lux's dick; she's now 5 inches down his 7 inch shaft, and not counting the occasional gag, she's doing the job like a pro. As she pleasured Lux, he had tilted his head back and began to moan and lightly gasp. The feeling of wet warmth closing around his shaft, caused a wonderful feeling down below.

"Ahsoka, can you use your tongue?" Lux asked his Lover.

"Mah tongh?" She asked with her mouth full. She granted his request by wrapping her tongue, which was longer than a humans, around his member. It slithered around his dick a few times. "Lighe sho?" She asked before she completely closed her mouth and started bobbing her head up and down.

Lux opened his mouth and sighed while slowly sinking his head back into the ground.

"UUhhhhhhh! Yes. Just like that." He said between moans, making Ahsoka's orange cheeks and blue Lekku stripes blush very deeply.

He gasped as he groaned in pleasure, his eyes rolling to the back of his skull. Ahsoka continued sucking for a few more moments, and every time she bobbed her head up and down, she moaned in a sexy way, and Lux gently gasped as his lover's hot, wet tongue stroked his hardened manhood. But then Lux felt his balls clench, and his erection started to pulsate. He raised his head again to look down at her.

"Ahsoka, I ... I think that I'm about to-," he froze before his eyes rolled up into his head. "-uuuuhhhh!" Lux wasn't able to finish what he had to say as he felt his balls clench and climax on the spot, unloading his cum into Ahsoka's mouth.

Lux leaned his head back again while groaning.

Ahsoka's eyes shot open in surprise as she suddenly began to taste the load that he was pumping into her mouth. She moaned in surprise and was forced to try and swallow as much of Lux's seed as she could, and did so excitedly. But there was too much being pumped into her mouth for Ahsoka to handle. Lux's cum began to leak out of the corners of her mouth and run down her chin. When she tried to bob her head down further, Lux's dick brushed against her uvula and began to shoot his seed directly down her throat, which caused her gag and tear up.

She opened her mouth to let go of his member; some of it sprayed onto her face and tits as she withdrew her mouth. Not being able to swallow Lux's whole load, she got on her hands and knees and spat and coughed out small clumps of cum. Lux sat back up to see if she was okay.

"Ahsoka, are you alright?" Lux asked with concern.

Ahsoka put a hand out to assure him, all while she still coughed. "I'm fine Lux, I-," she coughed again. She started to crawl to the side of the pond. After scooping some water into her hands and sipping it. She sloshed the pond water around her mouth, mixed with Lux's cum, and swallowed it. It travelled down her throat, and she was back to her regular self.

"I have to admit ... that was unexpected..." she said as she sat on her knees, scooping more water from the pond into her hands to pour it onto herself, and wash off Lux's cum. "...but surprisingly pleasant," Ahsoka said before getting a sip of water from the pond to wash down what remained of Lux's load.

Lux sat up and began to crawl over to her. He sat on his knees behind her and coiled his arms around her.

"Well ... I think you were incredible," he said as he began to gently massage her soft breasts. "I guess it's my turn to..." Lux tried to say when Ahsoka swiftly turned back and pushed him to the ground, causing a light splash from the shallow water.

He looked up at her in surprise.

"Don't get up just yet..." Ahsoka said as she spread her legs and straddled Lux. Her snatch made contact with his dick, which was still limp. "...I'm not finished yet".

The kinky ex-Jedi began to slowly grind her hips, gliding her nether regions against his cock until it was stiff with pride and arousal.

Lux sighed as he began to slip into her again.

"Uh! UH! I think I can get used to this position Luxie," Ahsoka commented as she began to ride Lux at a faster rate.

He placed his hands on her hips to help her guide her movements.

His dick twitched happily inside of her. Ahsoka could feel it.

"AH! Nnnnnh! Yes! This is definitely my favorite position," Ahsoka gasped in pleasure as she continued riding.

Ahsoka stretched her arms over her head and tilted her head back a little, pushing her jiggling breasts out as she started to speed up her writhing on Lux's hips.

She snuck a glance down at Lux to see him totally at her mercy.

' _He can be my little pleasure slave. Maybe I should get him a leash_ '.

Ahsoka was imagining future sexual escapades with the young senator. She imagined herself sitting completely naked (or in her bodysuit, but unzipped) on a throne or lying down on a decorative king-sized bed, and Lux in nothing but a collar, crawling towards her in an erotic fashion.

 _'I'd treat him well though. He would be able to make passionate love to his master everyday. Mmmmh ... and every night'_.

Her naughty thoughts were interrupted by blinding white pleasure. A powerful orgasm ripped through her body. She threw her head back and clasped her hands behind it as the pleasure spread throughout her body. "Lux! Oh Lux!" She moans out as she continues to spasm out on top of Lux. "Uh! Uh! UUHHHH!"

The intensity being too much for her, Ahsoka shuddered and collapsed on Lux's chest. She's panting hard.

"That ... was ... amazing!" Ahsoka exclaimed in between breaths.

But Lux wasn't done yet, for he had yet to climax. He grabbed the limp girl by her hips and he began to mercilessly thrust into her.

Ahsoka's eyes roll up into her brain. She moans, gasps, and twitches in response to Lux's wild thrusts. "UH! NNGH! AAHH!" She moans out.

' _Don't worry Ahsoka_ ', Lux thought to himself as he continued thrusting into her. ' _Just a little longer and...'_ "Guh! UUhhhhhhhh!"

Lux's exploded inside of her.

She could feel his hot life force shoot up into her womb again.

The two lovers collapsed against the ground and relaxed, basking in the afterglow of their wonderful experience.

Lux closed his eyes and held Ahsoka in his loving embrace.

But Ahsoka, on the other hand, was apologizing to her weak and weary body. Because no matter how weak and weary her body was, she knew that they were going to put an even greater strain on it when they caught their breaths.

She held Lux tighter and put on a naughty smile.

* * *

 _Ahsoka and Lux didn't leave the pond at all that night._

 _They continued their erotic escapade under the moonlight._

 _The two of them tried many, many different positions that night until the sun starts to appear._

 _The '69' position, reverse cow-girl, doggie style... hell, Ahsoka even used the force to make them float above the ground, where they proceeded to do it in mid-air, stopping when they nearly floated over the pond._

 _Anything that they could think of that night, they most likely did it. After a few hours, they finally fell asleep._

 _Of coarse, no one would ever find out about what they did that night. Every naughty thing they did together was between the three of them: Lux, Ahsoka, and their love for each other._

* * *

It was morning. Ahsoka stirred awake as she felt the mid morning sun shine into her face.

She was laying on her side when she tried to get up and stretch. That was when she felt two arms coiled around her naked waist.

Ahsoka turned her head over her shoulder and found Lux still sound asleep.

 _He has a good grip for someone deep in their sleep. Hm, I would know about him having a good grip_.

She gently removed Lux's hands from her stomach and moved his arms away.

The young togrutan was now free from her lover's gentle grasp.

Ahsoka stretched. Her back cracked a few times. She looked around her.

The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the bugs were chirping. The sounds of nature could be deafening sometimes.

She then looked at the pond.

 _Lux and I rolled around in the dirt and our moist afterglow. A bath might be in order_.

The young togrutan gently stepped into the shallow part of the pond. She stopped when the water was waist deep.

Ahsoka started scooping water onto herself. It made her shiver. The lack of sunlight over the pond made the water quite chilly, but she got used to it.

She continued to scoop water in her hands and pour it on herself. The water spilled across her creamy orange skin and sprinkled into the pond, making little splash noises.

When she was all wet, she started rubbing her hands across her body. She rubbed her hips, her face, her tits, and every other part of her soft skin.

Suddenly she heard someone disturbing the water behind her. Sense there was only one other person with her, she wasn't worried.

Ahsoka continued gliding her hands over her wet skin, when she felt a warm body press against her back. Something long and hard rested in the crevice between her butt cheeks. Then she felt two arms coiling around her body. That was when she felt two hands resting on her plump melons.

"Good morning my little 'Soka," Lux said. Ahsoka's lekku tingled when she felt his warm breath. Lux then starting leaving wet kisses on her lekku, before he started squeezing Ahsoka's large soft jugs. He molded her boobs, the skin sinking and risings with his fingertips.

"Mmmmm, good morning Luxie," Ahsoka moaned out as she leaned her head back over her shoulder.

She moaned even louder when he started pinching her nipples, the hardened buds gently being twisted by her lover's fingers.

Ahsoka turned around in Lux's embrace to face him. She snuggled closer to him, pressing her massive breasts against his pecks, while he rested his hands on her hips.

She smiled and looked up at him (Lux is a few inches taller) and closed her eyes, before puckering her lips.

Lux smiled.

He captured Ahsoka's lips with his own. He sucked on her top lip, while she sucked on his bottom lip. Before long, their tongues were exploring each other's mouths.

After a few minutes, they broke the kiss.

"We should probably get going," Lux said.

"That might be a good idea. We have for miles before we can find a decent meal," Ahsoka said.

They walked out of the pond and gathered their clothes.

Ahsoka folded up her clothes and put them in the survival pack, which was empty now.

Lux looked on, perplexed.

"What are you doing?" Lux asked.

"I'm all wet Luxie. So I'm gonna get dressed when we're close to the settlement," Ahsoka said as she pressed the bag into his chest.

Lux watched as she walked away. Lux walked as her plump orange butt cheeks moved up and down as she walked.

His mouth hung open as he watched her showing off. A little bit of drool leaked out of his lips.

He did the same thing that Ahsoka did with her clothes before throwing the bag over his shoulders. He caught up with her and glanced over her shoulders, allowing him a good view of her breasts as they jiggled with every move she took.

The two lovers walked through the fields of Shili completely nude.

It was the beginning of something quite beautiful, not to mention naughty.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Tano residence_.

After the break in of their lovely home and the abduction of their loving daughter, as well as her potential other half, the Tano family tried to push forward as best as they could.

Jorman and Kalatosh went out to fix the hole that was cut into the side of the house. Later they were gonna replace the windows, and the front door. Then sometime that week, they would go out and purchase new hunting rifles. Someone still had to put a dead animal on the table for the wives to cook.

Bella was in the kitchen seasoning one of the dead nuna for dinner.

Raana and Ashla were busy fixing the same table that the assassin ruined the other night. They were also placing new dishes on the table, replacing the ones that were shattered that same night.

"Tuktee, come down and help us set the table," Raana said, calling out to her youngest child.

Tuktee came down the stairs. He was dragging a purple stuffed animal loth-cat. On closer inspection, she recognized it as the one that Ahsoka used to keep with her when she was little. He was shy around Ahsoka, but now he missed his big sister. So now he wouldn't let go of the stuffed toy. It was like a security blanket.

When the little boy reached the bottom of the stairs, Raana collapsed to the ground and cried.

Tuktee and Ashla walked up to her to comfort her.

Bella heard the commotion from the kitchen and found her daughter on the ground with her grandkids.

"Oh dearest. Come hear," she said as she joined them.

"I-sniff-I, I lost my daughter, for-forever," Raana said as she cried into her mothers apron.

"I know deary, I know," Bella said.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Who do you suppose?" Bella said as she went to answer the door.

She opened it. What she saw nearly made her faint.

"It can't be!" Bella said as she brought her hands up to her lips.

Ahsoka and Lux were at the door.

"Everyone come quick. You are not going to believe this. Guess who's back," Bella shouted.

Bella threw her arms around Ahsoka, who hugged her back. Lux stood back and smiled.

Raana, Ashla, and Tuktee arrived at the front door to see Ahsoka and Bella hugging.

Raana nearly gasped as she saw her daughter was alive and well.

She threw her arms around her mother and daughter.

Tuktee hugged one of Ahsoka's legs, while Ashla threw her arms around her sister's waist.

In the back, two men were thundering up the stairs. It was Jorman and Kalatosh.

"This had better mean that it's lunch time woman. Don't you people understand that men can't work on an empty stomach?" Kalatosh complained. He and Jorman were wearing dusty work clothes.

When they got upstairs, they saw what the commotion was all about.

Raana and Bella stepped aside to let their husbands see what was happening.

"Oh my god," Jorman exclaimed before he ran up to Ahsoka to give her a bear hug. Tears began to stream down his face. "I thought I'd lost you little 'Soka".

Ahsoka let tears stream down her face. "You didn't daddy. I'm home".

Jorman let go of Ahsoka to let Kalatosh hug her, and walked up to Lux. The young senator's heart began to beat at a fast rate.

"So you tried to help fight off that witch the other night, and you helped bring my daughter home to?" Jorman asked.

Jordan was thrown into a wall before he could see Lux tackle Barriss the other night. He didn't believe it when he heard it for the first time.

"Ye-yes s-sire," Lux stuttered. He began to sweat a little.

Jordan just scowled at him for a few seconds.

Then he reached out and patted Lux on the shoulder a few times.

"You're alright Bonteri," he said.

Lux nodded, and the entire family watched.

He was an honorary member of the Tano family.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Family room, Tano residence_.

"So, are you two together now?" Bella asked as she poured a glass of blue milk for Ahsoka.

Ahsoka was holding little Tuktee in her lap. The young boy rested his sleeping head against his big sister's shoulder.

Ahsoka then looked over at Lux, who wasting right next to her.

They both smiled at each other before looking back at Bella.

"Yes," they said at the same time while they held hands.

"Oh well it's about time," Raana said.

Everyone laughed.

"'Soka has a boyfriend, 'Soka has a boyfriend," Ashla taunted.

Ahsoka glared at Ashla.

"Oh hush now Ashla. You'll have one to someday," Raana said to her youngest daughter.

"Yeah, when I'm dead. Plus three days. Just to be sure I'm dead ( **quick, name that movie** )," Jorman said.

"Come on daddy, you knew it would happen one day," Ahsoka said.

"I know. But it seems like you've only come back 4 days ago and already you've got someone for me to keep an eye on," Jorman said.

"That was 4 days ago," Ahsoka said.

"Exactly," Jorman said.

"Don't worry. I fought in a war. I can handle a boyfriend, and keep him in line," Ahsoka said as she rested her head on Lux shoulder.

Tuktee stirred in his sleep. Raana took him off of Ahsoka's lap and brought him up to his room for a nap.

"Speaking of a war, what possessed that mirilian witch to bring it here. They broke into our house, captured you, cut off Shili from the galaxy, and now the Governor is letting the Republic send a battlegroup to sweep the system and to sift through that wreckage that you made up in geo-sync orbit," Kalatosh said pointing up.

"I don't know. Maybe I had some information that the Seppies needed," Ahsoka thought. "But I don't remember what".

"It doesn't matter now. What's important is that you're both free of that witch," Bella said.

Ahsoka smiled. But deep down, she couldn't help but feel that Barriss got what she wanted.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Serenno system, Invisible Hand, CIS dreadnaught and flagship of General Grievous_.

Barriss bowed in front of Dooku, Grievous, and the holographic figure of Darth Sideous.

A B1 commander presented a chip, that Barriss handed over to it earlier, to Grievous.

The cyborg general swiped it out of the droid's hand and looked at it.

"You're welcome," the droid officer with yellow accents said.

Grievous ignored the droid and plugged it into his holo-projector. It showed a map of the galaxy and lines that represented hyperspace lanes. Some of the lanes were suddenly highlighted.

"This is it. My spies report that these areas do not have any Republic Naval activity. It's the perfect place from which to launch our greatest offensive yet," Grievous said.

"As you can see my master, young Barriss has proven herself. I believe that she is worthy of being in the ranks of your agents," Dooku said.

"Bawh! Do as you wish with the little brat, Dooku. Just don't let her near anymore of my ships," Grievous barked dismissively.

"We all have our roles to play General," Dooku calmly said to his top general.

Grievous ignored the comment and walked out of the chambers with the Nexus Route co-ordinates. His magna-guards followed him. He had an operation to plan. One that would bring upon the destruction of the Republic Government and the Jedi.

 _Rather touchy, isn't he?_ Barriss thought to herself.

"So what do you think my master," Dooku asked.

Sideous raised a holographic hand, causing Dooku to stifle himself.

"Young one. You have been held down and ignored by the Jedi. And to show them how unappreciative they've been, you bombed their precious temple. You broke the separatist leaders out of prison, as much as they are a nuisance. And you helped us obtain information vital to our cause. I believe that you are worthy of being one of my inquisitors," Sideous said.

"I am honored," Barriss said.

"Hence forth, you shall be known as, the seventh sister. You will join the ranks of your brothers and sisters. You will carry out my will. And my will shall destroy the Republic and reign over this Galaxy," Sideous said.

"I pledge myself to your teachings," Barriss said.

Sidious raised his hand.

"Rise my new agent. We have a Galaxy to subjugate".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Shili, space port_.

"Are you sure you have to leave? You just got back," Raana said.

Ahsoka and Lux were getting ready to leave. They were going their separate ways, for now. Lux would go back to Coruscant to represent his people in the senate, while Ahsoka went out on her own. She wore a gray jedi like robe over her outfit, with the hood down. They had their luggage right next to them.

"I'm sure. I need to get out on my own. I need to find my own path. But I promise that I will come see you whenever I can," Ahsoka said.

She had already said goodbye to everyone. Her parents went to the space port with Ahsoka and Lux.

Ahsoka gave both of them a hug, while they hugged her back.

She looked at both of them. They both began to tear up.

"I never knew about my family before the Jedi. But now I know that I have a big family. You all taught me that I shouldn't leave my past behind. Not only that, but you helped me draw strength from it. For that, I'm happy, and I will be forever grateful," Ahsoka said as she began to tear up before she hugged her parents again.

"Goodbye little 'Soka," Jorman said.

"Goodbye mom and dad. We'll meet again some day. I promise," Ahsoka said.

With that, they went their separate ways.

Ahsoka and Lux walked into the spaceport. When they entered, they walked over to a side hallway for some privacy.

"You know Lux, I think you following me here was the best decision that you've ever made," Ahsoka said.

"I was thinking the same thing," Lux said as he pressed his lips against her own. They broke apart after a few minutes. "But do we have to go on our separate ways?"

"I told you Lux: I'm not ready to go back to Coruscant. And you need to go back there for your people. But don't worry. When the time's right, I'll come back..." Ahsoka said she said as she coiled her arms around Lux's neck. "...and we can be together," Ahsoka said as she stood on her tippie-toes, smashed her breasts against his chest, and planted her soaking wet lips onto Lux's.

Lux smiled against her lips.

For several minutes they kisses. Lux sucked on Ahsoka's lower lip, while she sucked on his upper lip. Lux then pressed her against the wall and slid his tongue between her lips and past her teeth.

Ahsoka placed one of her hands on the back of Lux's head to pull him closer, while she cupped his cheek with the other one.

Lux had had his hands on her hips for the past few minutes, but he started to glide them up her waist. His rested on her breasts for a few seconds. He gave them a light squeeze, which caused Ahsoka to moan in pleasure.

One of his hands went up to the zipper fastener on her wetsuit and he started to pull the zipper tab down all the way to her belly button.

As her top parted, the cool indoor air began to enter her wetsuit, tickling the warm flesh of her stomach and breasts.

His hands moved inside her wetsuit so that he can touch her boobs directly. His warms hands started kneading her soft tits.

For several minutes they kissed. Lux sucked on Ahsoka's lower lip, while she sucked on his upper lip. Lux then pressed her against the wall and slid his tongue between her lips and past her teeth.

Ahsoka was wearing a tight, button up, long-sleeved burgundy shirt with a collar. The top two buttons were un-buttoned, and it made her breasts look like they were about to break open her shirt. Even more so when she pushed her breasts up against Lux's chest. She placed one of her hands on the back of Lux's head to pull him closer, while she cupped his cheek with the other one. Lux had had his hands on her hips for the past few minutes, but he started to glide them up and down her waist.

After passionately kissing for what seemed like an eternity. Ahsoka and Lux looked into each others eyes lovingly.

"You know Ahsoka, your flight doesn't leave for another hour." Lux said as he continued to gently run his hands up and down her waist.

"Hm, I'm listening," Ahsoka said as she looked at Lux with a devious, and seductive, smirk.

"There's also a utility closet just down that corridor." Lux pointed out.

Ahsoka looked to her right towards the busy lobby, to make sure that no one was looking at them making out in public.

"Got any good ideas?" She asked with a twinkle in her eyes.

Lux grinned back and tightened his arms around her, pulling her closer. "I might."

Ahsoka got slipped out of his grip and turned around to head down the corridor. When she got there, she opened the door, entering the closet, which also served as a small janitor's office. It had a desk and an office chair. Lux walked in with their luggage in hand. He placed the bags off to the side before shutting the door and locking it behind them.

He was then suddenly turned around by Ahsoka, who pulled him over by his cheeks, one handed. When they were in front of the chair, Ahsoka gently pushed Lux against the chair. He then sat down in it and looked up at Ahsoka, smirking widely.

She reached underneath her skirt and pulled her panties down her smooth orange legs. Then she walked over and straddled his lap.

He grazed his fingers up and down her back lek with one hand while the other wrapped around a hip and snugged her pelvis even closer to his, pressing his already hard cock against her core, her lack of underwear under her skirt making it so there was only his slacks between them.

Ahsoka hummed in approval and pressed her mouth to his, starting a duel of the tongues. Their kisses started languid and sultry, but as the minutes ticked past, they mutually agreed they needed more. She rose just enough to undo his trousers and release his eager member, never losing her contact with his mouth as their kisses became more frantic.

Lux groaned as her warm and wet channel sank down around him. He grabbed her perfect round butt with both hands and held her still while he thrust up into her, mouth finally leaving the delicious sweetness of hers as the need to gasp in real air became apparent. Lux moved his mouth to her lek instead, licking and kissing the stripes.

When there was a knock on the locked door behind them, neither of them were inclined to abandon what they were doing to look at the door behind them. Ahsoka moaned in Lux's ear, then she continued to bounce on in lap with an increased ferocity, creating an enticing bobbing motion in her breasts. When it proved too much for the buttons on her shirt, they came undone, and her shirt flew open, allowing her breasts to plop out with a smacking noise, and then dance happily as they escaped their cottony prison. With her breasts and stomach exposed, Lux was inspired to increase his efforts at satisfying his beautiful Togrutan.

Ahsoka's eyes closed in ecstasy as Lux changed the angle just enough to hit her most sensitive spots and thrust even faster and deeper. She only lasted a minute before her insides coiled unbearably and the orgasm burst through her. "LUUUUUXXXX!" she cried, happy there was no one around to hear her.

Lux smiled momentarily in pride at himself for satisfying her before he concentrated on driving himself to his own climax in her clasping depths. Just staring at the blissed out look on her exotically marked face was almost enough to send him over the edge. He rammed himself home one more time and groaned, his own eyes closing as he emptied himself deep inside her. Their heads rested on each other's shoulders as they gasped and shuddered from the aftershocks.

After a few minutes, Ahsoka looked up and cupped Lux's face in her hands, kissing him sweet and deep. "That was fantastic, Luxi. You really do know how to make a girl shatter."

Lux smiled back, rubbing his nose against hers playfully. "I can shatter you again if you want."

Ahsoka's eyes lit up at the prospect. She slid off his lap and stood, pulling him to his feet just so she could push him down on the floor with a burst of the Force, making sure he landed on his back with the softest of landings.

Lux laughed and sat up, tossing off his clothes before gesturing for her to do the same. Ahsoka smirked and tossed her own clothes off. Sheathed joined him on the ground, only for Lux to flip them over so that he was on top. He then proceeded to make love to her as passionately as he could, causing a torrent of loud noises to emit from the closet.

* * *

One janitor came by to get some cleaning supplies, but then he heard what sounded like two animals fighting over a piece of meat on the other side of the door. He slowly turned away and went off to find a different utility closet.

* * *

After about 40 minutes, Ahsoka and Lux reluctantly separated from one another when it was time for them to catch their transports.

They had to part ways once again. But that void between them would allow their love to grow stronger between them.

As Ahsoka looked out the window of her transport deep in thought.

 _I'm really glad that I didn't leave my past. It presented me with a new lover. And maybe some day, when things change, I'll go back to the Republic to start a new life. A new life with Lux and my family in it, and one where I can maybe get my old job in the Grand Army back._ _Things are looking up_.

With that, the transport jumped into hyperspace, taking Ahsoka off on her continuing journey.

Things seemed to be looking up for her.

As for the rest of the galaxy ... that was a different story.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Well folks, that it for this section. Hope that you enjoyed. Next chapter will focus on Anakin and Padme, along with a few scenes from the 2003 Clone wars series.**

 **I hope you're still around to experience this story till the end.**

 **So I bid you farewell for now.**

 **This is Grubkiller, over and out.**


	11. Chapter 11-At home and abroad

**Have no fear, Grubkiller is here.**

 **As I've explained earlier, parts 11-14 have been moved from this story to make a separate one (The Clone Wars: Republic Commando, if you're interested). I did that because I felt like the 'Bad batch' section didn't fit in with the story. It stops it dead in its tracks and forced the reader away from the overall themes of this story: namely mystery and tragedy.**

 **So for the next few chapters, I'll be focusing on the lead up to Revenge of the Sith, by using scenes from the 2003 clone wars animated series with a few added scenes with Ahsoka.**

 **And can someone please leave a review. I love hearing from you people, and I want to hear your feedback. Is the story good? Is it bad? Do all of the sections flow well together, or not at all? Do you have any suggestions? Please, tell me. If you don't, then WW3 will start. (On second thought, maybe we need a WW3. Wait did I say that out loud?).**

 **My joking aside, please, do enjoy the story.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

" _You might by my husband, but you'll always be a Jedi knight first_ "-Padme Amidala to her secret husband, Anakin Skywalker.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Varykino, Lake country, Planet Naboo_.

Naboo.

A planet with a largely unspoiled surface, covered in large plains, swamps, and seas.

On this planet with vast beauty, our story takes us to a place called Lake Country. It was a remote region that was two hours by speeder from Naboo's capital, Theed. Sparsely populated by ranchers and agriculturalists, this region, with its rolling grasslands and sparkling lake, was also home to the private estates of many of Naboo's political and economic elite.

Under the cover of this starry night, a mysterious hooded figure's journey took him and his little silver and blue astromech companion to this very lake. They took a canoe across the lake to a beautiful lakeside estate. When the boat docked next to a stone ledge, he was greated by a woman with fair skin and brown hair, wearing a blue night gown that exposed her shoulders and hugged her petite frame quite nicely, and had long and baggy silver sleeves.

When the figure with the brown hooded cloak stepped off of the boat and onto the ledge, he outstretched his arms, welcoming the woman into his embrace. The woman rested her head on the man's chest and placed her hands on his broad shoulders.

She looked up at the man.

"Oh Ani, I've missed you," the woman, who was senator Padme Amidala of Naboo, said to the man embracing her.

"I've missed you too," the man, Anakin Skywalker, said.

Padme raised her hands to cup her husband's face, rubbing her little fingers against his cheeks, making sure that he was real, and in one piece. The two of them looked into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity. She shed a single tear when she ran a finger up and down the scar that was over his right eye.

"Every time you leave, I feel like you come back to me with a new scar. Please tell me you're taking care of yourself out there," she jokingly begged.

Anakin used his mechanical hand to clasp the hand that she was using to feel his scar.

"Don't worry, it's nothing to be concerned about. I'm alright. And I have incredible news..." Anakin said as he placed his other hand on the small of her back, pulling her in closer. "...we have ten days all to ourselves".

Padme's face lit up.

Without a word, she cupped his face with both of her hands and looked him in the eyes. He placed his hands on her waist. The pulled each other in until their lips met for a passionate kiss. Padme wanted to gasp. But because of her husbands lips, she was forced to moan instead as she began to bury her fingertips in Anakin's flowing hair.

Fireworks might as well have been going off in the distance, because anytime the two of them were together was cause for celebrations. Their lips made smacking noises as they continued kissing. Anakin penetrated her lips with his tongue, and he began to explore her mouth. She retaliated by doing the same. A few moments later, their lips broke apart. When they did, they rested their foreheads against one another.

"That's wonderful Ani," Padme said as she arched her back and pushed her large perky breasts up against Anakin's. "Why don't we make the most of it?"

Anakin's eye brows flared up and he looked down at the pouty, and somewhat seductive, look that his wife put on. That's when Anakin smirked and lifted her up and carried her bridal style.

Padme giggled as her husband carried her to her private chamber.

Artoo, who Anakin almost completely forgotten about, decided to go close down for the evening.

* * *

The senator's private chamber was lavishly decorated and had a queen sized bed. The room also looked out over the lake. The stars and moon could be seen reflecting off of the lake, giving the dark room romantic natural lighting.

Padme lied down on the bed, still wearing her nightgown. She propped herself up on her elbows as she watched her husband.

Anakin was completely naked as he walked towards the bed. Every part of his body, from his legs, to his abs, and to his arms, rippled with muscle. Padme's eyes scanned Anakin's body, drinking in the sight of his rippling muscles. Her eyes were also focused on his 10 inch erection. The hardened cock stood up tall, the tip hovering in front of his belly button, bobbing up and down with every step that he took.

When Anakin's knees hit the bed, he leaned over and crawled on top of Padme, crawling between her legs, up her stomach, and up her breasts until they were face to face. As Anakin leaned in closer to Padme's face, she leaned back into the bed, drawing him in with her intoxicating beauty. Anakin smashed his lips against hers in a wet and soaking passionate kiss.

"Mmmmmmhh. Mmmmh".

Padme moaned as she and her secret husband devoured each other's lips.

She buried her fingertips inside of Anakin's luscious brown (dirty blonde?) hair. A few moments later, she let one hand continue playing with his hair, while she let the other one travel down Anakin's body until it found his member. She took the hardened cock in her hands and she began to lightly jerk him off. Anakin groaned inside of Padme's lips as he felt his cock twitching. She then began to gently grasp his scrotum and lightly squeeze his balls together. Anakin's cock twitched and quivered happily in response.

Not being able to take it anymore, he broke the kiss and began to trail small kisses down Padme's creamy smooth skin. With each kiss he gently feasted upon Padme's smooth skin.

She closed her eyes and moaned.

"Oh Ani!" She sighed as Anakin been to gently suck on her neck. It was at this point that he began to slowly grind against Padme's midsection, which was still amply clothed. But no amount of clothing could stop his erection from twitching as it rubbed against her.

Anakin continued to gasp in pleasure, causing him to blow hot breaths on Padme's neck.

She began to pant as Anakin began to travel down her body.

He kissed her neck and her collarbone. And then her reached the top of her dress, who's design exposed her shoulders already. Anakin started tugging at the hem of the top of her dress. The tension he put on her dress caused to to be pulled away from her body. Anakin peeled the dress down, exposing even more of her heavenly skin. Every inch of her skin that was exposed was another kiss that she received from her husbands lips, causing her to gasp.

"Uhh! Ahhhh!"

Anakin then pulled the dress down to her waist in one swift tug, exposing her DD-cup breasts and stomach. He reached out and began to gently squeeze her breasts. He used both hands. His flesh one and his mechanical one. His flesh and mechanical finger sank deep into her fleshy perks, the extra sink squishing between his sinking fingers like clay-doe.

Padme threw her head back into the pillows and sighed in please, gasping her husband's name.

"Anakin! Ohhh Anakin!"

He pushed his face into one of her breasts and began to suck on one of her nipples. As he sucked on the tip of his moaning wife's breasts, he brought his free hand down and sunk his mechanical hand into her dress, inserting his middle and ring fingers into her snatch.

Padme's eyes burst open when she let out a loud moan.

"AAHHHHH!"

Anakin continued to grind against her dress as he rubbed her midsection with his hands. All while squeezing one breasts with his flesh hand, and pushing his lips and tongue against her succulent jugs. Padme's eyes closed as she threw her head back into the pillow as her naked husband continued to body, yet gently, plunder her body for all that it was worth. She continued to hum to herself blissfully as her ... not so little ... little Ani continued his erotic actions.

But when her vision began to go white, and a powerful orgasm ripped through her body, she let out another loud moan before she began to buckle and gyrate her hips into her husband. When she was done cumming all over her lover's robotic fingers, Anakin stood on his knees and straddled her waist. He began to lick his fingers, savoring the sweet taste of his wife's love juices.

As Padme watched her husband's actions, she felt her crotch continue to vibrate and moisten. She pushed her dress down the rest of the way and squeezed her thighs together, as if to quell the feeling between her legs.

"Ani! Please! I need you!" Padme moaned.

Anakin smiled. He lied back down on his naked wife and began to push his quivering erection into her nether regions. He then began to thrust his hips into Padme's at a faster rate, pounding his hardened cock, which was more solid than his robot arm, into her sweet spot.

Anakin buried his face between padre's flowing hair and shoulder, his hot breath tickling her neck.

Padme's head rested on the shoulder of the man pounding into her. Her mouth hung open as she sighed with every pelvic thrust.

"UH! UH! UH!" Anakin grunted with every thrust. His long and hard shaft pushed into Padme's entrance and withdrew, repeating the rhythm over and over and over again. Anakin felt Padme's wall tighten around his dick.

Padme, meanwhile, was gasping from all of the pleasurable feelings that Anakin was inflicting upon her. She then raised her legs and crossed them around Anakin's waist in order to feel him thrust into her better.

Anakin glided his hands down from her arms and down to her breasts.

His hands clenched and unclenched while they held her soft jugs. Her warm clay mountains were being worked on like two clay sculptures.

Padme dug her fingertips into Anakin's soft hair with a death grip, as if afraid tat he was going to leave her in the middle of their love-making session.

Outside of the room, the moon and the stars were reflecting off of the lake and shining the natural light into the room, illuminating Anakin and Padme, who would've been making love in the dark.

Padme felt her nether regions vibrate. Her walls tightened around Anakin's member. This caused a powerful orgasm to rip through her body and then spill her juices onto Anakin's crotch. She moaned more loudly as she came.

This, in turn, caused Anakin to climax. His scrotum clenched, causing a pleasuring sensation to throb its way up his shaft, making him groan. His hardened cock exploded inside Padme's entrance. He shot his seed into her womb.

"Ani! OH...ANAKIN!" Padme shouted as her eyes rolled up into her head as she felt Anakin's hot liquid substance rush up into her body. She arched her back and pushed her breasts up into Anakin's thick chest as her snatch milked Anakin completely dry.

As both lovers finished climaxing, Anakin collapsed onto Padme's body.

Anakin rested his head in between Padme's jugs, listening to her rapid, yet relaxing, heartbeat. His head was gently pushed up and down with her breasts as she continued to breath heavily. Padme continued to stroke her husband's hair as his head was cradle by her chest.

Anakin propped himself up with his elbows and he pulled himself up to look into Padme's eyes.

"I love you Padme," Anakin said.

Padme looked up at him. Still not believing that her husband was back, she looks up into his eyes, getting lost in them, as she cups his cheeks with her hands. tears began to well up in her eyes. Anakin leaned his forehead against hers, reassuring her.

"I love you too Anakin," she said with a crack in her voice.

The two of them laid side by side in the bed, snuggling in close before they eventually drifted off to sleep.

Ten days.

Ten days all to themselves.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

As Anakin woke up from his peaceful slumber, he could hear the sound of birds crowing and water hitting the shoreline outside. He propped himself up, causing the sheet to fall away from his body, and slowly began to open his eyes. But his vision was blurry. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

The Jedi Knight looked to his side to see that Padme wasn't in the bed.

 _'She must be downstairs'._ He deduced.

Anakin then looked out the window to see that it was morning out. The sun was shining, and there was not a cloud in sight to cover up the blue sky. The sun itself shined off of the lake, and judging by it's position, it was a few hours before noon.

Suddenly, the smell of cooking meat snuck its way up his nostrils, tantalizing him to the point that he almost fell out of the bed because of the alluring scent.

He smiled and got out of bed, putting on a pair of discarded pants. He walked downstairs, the scent getting stronger the further down he walked. His smile widened when he saw a familiar figure over the kitchen counter.

It was his beautiful wife, Padme.

Padme was wearing a turquoise outfit. The top had long sleeves and was made of crimped light blue fabric, decorated simply with silver trim and tiny shells, and a decorative knot in the center. The outfit was turtle-necked, and her sleeves were long. It also hugged her breasts very nicely, and it shoed off her well trimmed navel. Everything between her breasts and her waist was exposed. She also wore a simple blue skirt that hugged her hips and flowed at her feet. She wore her hair down in loose ringlets, held back by a simple light blue headband decorated with a diamond pattern.

He walked up to her slowly, so as to not alert her.

When he was right behind her he coiled his arms around her waist and rested his hands on her stomach before pulling her into his warm, half-naked, embrace.

Padme smiled.

"Good morning," she said.

"Mmmm, good morning to you to," Anakin said as he nuzzled his nose into the back on her neck, leaving a few small kisses on it.

Padme giggled.

Anakin then looked over her shoulder to see that she had made sausage and eggs. There was also some five blossom bread.

"You made me breakfast?" Anakin asked. "How did I become lucky enough to have a wife like you?"

Padme put her utensils down, turned around in his embrace, and looked at Anakin. She smiled as she leaned against the countertop, and put her arms on the edges on either side of her.

She cupped his cheeks with her hands and stood on her tippie-toes. "I just wanted to make your stay here special".

Anakin ran his hands up and down Padme's exposed waist. He then leaned in. "With you? I can't think of anything more special," he said before he pressed his lips against hers.

After a few seconds of kissing passionately, Padme pushed him a few inches back. "Breakfast will be ready in a few moments. Why don't you grab a seat?"

Anakin gave a mock bow. "As you wish my lady," he said before he kissed her hand. He walked to the kitchen table and pulled a seat out for him and Padme. That's when Padme walked over with two plates of food. After about 20 minutes, they consumed their food, enjoying .

Later, the two lovers were outside on the veranda, half-sitting and half-laying down on a couch that was outside, overlooking the water. Padme sat in Anakin's lap. As she sat, she coiled her arms around his neck and draped one of her legs over his. She leaned into his neck and began to use one of her hands to rake her fingernails down Anakin's pecks.

Anakin smiled as his wife played with him. The two of them began to kiss for a while. As this happened, Anakin's pants began to tighten around his hardening member.

After a while, Padme just rested her head on Anakin's muscular shoulders.

"So..." Anakin asked as he ran his fingers up and down Padme's back. "...how have things been going with you at the senate?"

Padme groaned, as if not wanting to talk about it.

"Well, aside from the constant corruption and infighting, I have to say that things are going alright for me and my friends," Padme said. "Oh! And I just remembered. There's some gossip floating around the Senate concerning Lux Bonteri".

Anakin looked down at her. "I remember him. What've you heard?"

"He's gotten a new girlfriend," Padme said.

"Ah well, good for him," Anakin said, closing his eyes as he leaned back against the arm of the couch. "I don't see why that matters".

"Because his girlfriend is your ex-padawan," Padme said.

Anakin's head nearly exploded from the couch. His eyes were bulging out of his skull. "WHAT!"

Padme smirked as Anakin stared off into space for nearly an eternity. "Are you alright?" She asked. Anakin shook his head. Hearing about his ex-padawan usually made him depressed. But now ... he had mixed feelings. "Oh, uh, of coarse. Uhm, completely unrelated question: do you know where I can hide a body?"

Padme giggled.

"Ani relax, let the younger generation have its taste of love..." Padme said as she cuddled deeper into Anakin's embrace, she then sunk her fingers into his pants and began to stroke Anakin's hardened cock. "...so we can have ours".

Anakin closed his eyes and threw his head back. A sigh escaped from his parted lips.

"Yes milady".

* * *

Later, after their little pleasure session, Padme and Anakin were walking down a dirt road on the side of the lake, with their arms linked, and Artoo wasn't far behind. It was surrounded by trees and flowers, who's leaves and petals floated in the breeze. Anakin wore sweat pants and robe, which was parted to show off his torso, while Padme wore the blue dress she wore earlier.

They were walking towards a stone bridge that went across a creek.

"You truly believe the War is almost over?" Padme asked.

"Don't you?" Anakin asked. "Under Palpatine's leadership, we've driven the Confederacy into the Outer Rim. They're under siege..."

"Which makes them desperate, unpredictable," Padme interrupted. "Dooku's commanders..."

"He has very few left,' Anakin interrupted. "I ... we've captured or killed most of them. All that's left are General Grievous, and Nute Gunray's gang".

That last one left a bad taste in his mouth. Nute Gunray led the occupation of the very world that he and Padme stood on. He even tried to have Padme killed, leading Anakin to have a sheer dislike, to put it mildly, for the Trade Federation baron.

"Whatever happened to Asajj Ventress?" Padme asked. "She seemed the most frightening of them all".

"She's not with Dooku anymore. In fact ... I'm not sure she's with anyone," Anakin said.

Come to think of it, Anakin hadn't seen Dooku's former assassin since he questioned her in the underworld during Ahsoka's trial. It was because of her, Anakin was able to find the real bomber: Barriss Offee.

Then he started thinking about Ahsoka. His padawan, who was now somewhere out in the galaxy, doing who knows what. His thoughts of his old padawan, and the way the council treated her made Anakin stare off into space.

"Ani, what's wrong?" Padme asked as he ran her hand down the side of Anakin's face.

"How could the council treat her that way?" Anakin asked himself. "How could they just cast her aside like that, even though she gave her life to the order? Even Obi-wan".

"You're angry with them?" Padme asked as she pulled his chin to make him look at her.

Anakin sighed.

"With the council, yes. But Obi-Wan? No. Just ... frustrated. He's a great hero, but with the Confederacy on the run, he's become obsessed with one of his personal vendettas. Did you know that he's been looking at updates about Mandalore and Darth Maul lately. I think that he's wasting his time".

Padme didn't know. But she understood why Obi-Wan would be doing what he's doing. She stepped directly in front of Anakin and placed her hands on his neck.

"Ani, Obi-wan sees Darth Maul as his responsibility. He didn't kill maul all those years ago, and know Maul is ruling over Mandalore. And he killed the one that Obi-Wan loved most," she said, referring to the late Duchess Satine Kryze, who was murdered by Maul himself. "Obi-Wan sees liberating Mandalore, and destroying Maul, as a way of allowing Satine to rest in peace".

"I guess your right," Anakin said.

"I can see that you're worried about him. I think that's a good thing. It means that you'll be there for him. And you should be. You may be a knight, but he'll always be your master," Padme said.

"...And friend," Anakin finished.

"Now you need to always be there to help him. Because he makes sure that you get home to me in one piece".

Anakin smirked and placed his hands on her exposed waist.

"Hm, as you wish milady," he said before he pressed his lips against his wife's lips.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

A couple days later, Anakin and Padme were having breakfast on a stone balcony overlooking the lake. A gentle breeze blew leaves off of the trees around them.

Padme was done with her plate, but Anakin barely touched his. He just looked off into space. Padme noticed this. She leaned over the table and placed her hand over his, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"You're thinking about It. Aren't you?" Padme asked, seeing that Anakin was somewhat out of it at the moment. "The war, I mean".

Anakin looked at her. "Not really," he said. "Only a little," he admitted.

Padme got up from her chair and walked behind him. She placed her hands on her husband's shoulder and proceeded to gently massage his shoulders, getting rid of some of the stress that was obviously on his mind.

"I thought you'd be restless here," Padme said as she continued rubbing Anakin's shoulders. "...wanting to go back to it".

Anakin continued to stare off into the distance, in deep contemplation.

"Me too. But now that I'm here with you..." Anakin said as he brushed his fingers against his lightsaber hilt, which was laying on the table in front of him. "...part of me never wants to pick up my lightsaber again".

Padme was taken aback slightly.

"You don't mean that. You might by my **husband** , but you'll always be a **Jedi knight** first".

Anakin looked back over his shoulder and placed a hand over on of Padme's.

"Not when the war is over. Palpatine will bring **peace** , and then I can live here with you".

"That's a little...naive," Padme said, choosing her words wisely. "I know that you believe in Palpatine, but he's just one man. Thousands of worlds are in turmoil".

Anakin tightened his grip on his lightsaber hilt as he thought about the direction of the war, his blood boiling a little. "They'll all fall in line once the Confederacy has been crushed".

Padme was surprised by her husband's attitude towards the enemies of the Republic. But him being the more aggressive one in their marriage, Padme couldn't say that she was surprised.

"I'm not so sure about..." Padme started to say when she noticed that the wind began to blow even harder. The trees and plants danced in response. The sounds of a whining engine could be heard close by.

 _RRRUUUUMMMMMBBBBLLLLLEEEEE._

"What's that?!" Padme asked.

"I don't know. I-Oh No..." Anakin exclaimed as he saw a maroon colored Jedi interceptor appear out of no where, cast it's shadow over the spot that Anakin and Padme stood in, and then slowly begin to touch down on the ground. Anakin could just barely make out a bearded figure in the cockpit. "I know that fighter, and that bearded face, from anywhere".

Padme walked up to the ship with her husband.

"I guess your leave is over...and our secret is out".

The cockpit hatch popped open, allowing it's Jedi cargo to step out and down from the fight.

"Anakin, Senator." Obi-Wan greeted as he walked up to them. "I'm sorry to interrupt breakfast".

"Master, how did you find me?" Anakin asked.

"Obi-Wan raised one eye brow of the other in a look that said, 'seriously?'

"Anakin. I know you better than that," Obi-Wan said. "And I don't really care what you do on leave. What matters now is our next set of orders. The Separatists are pulling back into the outer rim, and they're taking every asset they have with them. While the invasion of the outer rim begins, we're going to be chasing down the Separatist leaders before they can pull out entirely".

Anakin carefully analyzed what his old master was saying.

He then looked at his wife, who was looking at him with a hint of sadness in her eyes. He looked away to get the image of her disappointment out of his head. Their marriage was a complete secret, and they could only see each other every few weeks. Sometimes even months. And now his ten-day leave was cut off after four days. In that moment, he felt frustrated. A small pat of him wanted to look his master in the eye and say ' _NO!_ '

But he couldn't.

For one, it would make him deserter.

For another, it was his duty, to his fellow Jedi, his men, and the people of the galaxy that were suffering from this war.

"Alright Obi-wan," Anakin reluctantly said. "But I'll have to go back to Theed and get my starship. _Some_ of us respect the planet's no-fly zones" Anakin said, referring to the way Obi-Wan entered the scene.

Obi-Wan nodded.

"Good. I'll send you the co-ordinates of our staging area, and some more details of our mission," Obi-wan said as he turned to walk to his fighter. "Meet me there".

The older, and wiser, Jedi stepped into his fighter. He activated the engine and his fighter lifted off. He took off and flew out of view, leaving Anakin and Padme alone. When Anakin was sure that they were alone, he turned towards his wife and pulled her into his embrace. Padme rested her head underneath his chin and placed her hands on his back.

"I'm sorry..." Anakin said.

"You made the right decision. I'm just afraid that it will be months before I see you again. If I see you again," Padme said somewhat cynically as she tightened her grip on her husband. "I love you".

"Don't worry. I'll be back. It's me," Anakin joked.

Padme looked up at her husband and smiled. But her eyes were welling up.

To comfort her, Anakin pressed his lips against Padme's. The kiss lasted for a few seconds before they broke apart. But then they kissed again, more desperately this time. Soon, they were devouring each other's lips. They held each other close and let their hands roam each other's bodies. About five minutes later, articles of clothing were tossed aside, before Anakin pushed his wife to the ground and began to slam his hips into hers over and over and over again, in the presence of nature. And this kept going for the next couple of hours until Anakin had to get going.

* * *

A short while after their love making session was over, Padme watched as her husband and his little astromech companion left the way that they arrived.

Padme watched with sadness as her husband disappeared across the lake. But she eventually held her chin up. She needed to be a strong wife for her husband, who was going off to war.

But unbeknownst to her, the other night, when Anakin arrived at the lake and came to her (literally), one of Anakin's cells had fertilized one of her eggs. And it eventually became a cell that split into two separate cells. She didn't know it yet, but she would also have to be a strong mother as well for the lives that were growing inside of her.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Belderone's moon, Belderone system, five and a half months later_.

"I wonder how many they'll send," said a Koorivar male named Oro Dassyne, who was wearing a red military uniform. "We've got so much firepower in here that these walls are ray shielded. They can't take this fort. It'll probably be, uh, fifty Jedi. They'll need at least that many. Huh, maybe a hundred Jedi! They'll never take this base with less. Ha, they'll need an army of Jedi!"

The alien general greatly enjoyed war, and wanted to be involved in the fighting at the front lines. He requested a transfer from Murkhana—which was his homeworld, located in the Outer Rim Territories, far from the war—to a place where he could be more active in the fighting. Dassyne used the war to add to his personal collection, taking valuable literature and artwork from conquered planets. However, Dassyne's overconfidence and demand to be in battle backfired when the horn atop his head—a status symbol in Koorivar culture—was shattered. To cover his loss, Dassyne wore an enlarged miter on his head.

Now, he commanded a fortress on a moon of a planet that was currently housing the separatist leaders, and close to the front line. He'd spent months building up this moon's defenses, which was stacked with layers of turbo lasers, and filled to the brim with battle droids.

"I have a visual," said the battle droid commander standing next to him, and looking through a pair of micro-binoculars.

"Jedi?" The general stiffened up in surprise.

"I think so," the droid said as he continued looking through his binoculars.

"How many? A thousand?" Dassyne asked.

"No," the droid said.

"Eighty?" Dassyne asked.

"No sir," the droid answered again.

"Fifty?" Dassyne asked.

"Less," the droid said while still looking through his binoculars.

"Forty? Come on. How many?" the general asked, starting to get impatient with his annoyingly difficult droid officer.

"Two," the droid said simply.

"What?! Give me those!" General Dassyne ordered as he impatiently grabbed the droids binoculars out of his mechanical hands so that he could look through them himself.

He scanned the horizon with his binoculars and saw that his vision was obscured by fog. That's when he saw the silhouettes of two figures riding on the backs of two deer. But the strangest thing was that the two Jedi were charging in the direction of the fortress. He lowered the binoculars from his face and looked at the horizon with stunned confusion. His left eye quivered as he continued to look on at the two Jedi in confusion.

 _'This doesn't make sense. Why would they just charge at our defenses on their own like that? Are they suicidal?'_

That's when he heard noises above him. It sounded like ships dropping out of hyperspace. Then he saw a massive shadow slowly being cast upon him, his droids, and the fortress behind him.

He and his droids looked up to see a horrible sight occupying their vision. It was a massive battle group of Venator-class Star destroyers and their support ships. They suddenly began to blast away at the fortress from above, whilst releasing swarms of Republic star-fighters. The fighters swooped down and strafed the fortress guns. Turbo laser turrets were blasted off of the towers that housed them before they could ever be put to use, allowing the Star-destroyers to move in closer and pound the fortress from a closer range.

General Dassyne and the battle droid commander took cover as explosions began to blast the fortress apart. Walls were blasted open, turrets were blown off of their mounts, and clusters of battle droids that were packed tightly together were blasted into hundreds of pieces by the Republic Navy.

As his fortress was blasted apart all around him, Dassyne grabbed his droid officer by the shoulders to get in his face.

"How did this happen?! How did they get past our defenses like that!?" Dassyne shouted demandingly.

"The Jedi must've disabled our sensor relay," the droid deduced.

Dassyne growled and shoved the droid to the ground in a fit of rage. But before he could do anything else, a blue laser blast from the Republic navy landed between him and the droid, vaporizing both of them.

As explosions continued to rock the fort, the remaining battle droids scrambled to their stations, preparing to resist the impending Republic attack.

But as they stood by, a pair of deer jumped over the walls of the fort. Two figures jumped off of the deer and landed in the middle of the fort. Dozens of battle droids turned around and pointed their blasters at the figures, who were obscured by the smoke. The droids looked on in confusion. That's when a pair of blue lightsabers were ignited, causing the smoke to glow blue.

"Get them!" One droid ordered.

When that order was given, every battle droid in view of the whole thing charged at the glowing sabers. They fired their weapons as they charged into the glowing smoke.

But as the droids entered the smoke, the two blue swords began to viciously swing and thrust. More and more droids continued to rush in. So the two laser swords swung harder and harder.

When there were no more droids left to charge into the smoke, A sudden wind blew the smoke away, revealing the dismembered remains of dozens of battle droids, and two Jedi knights.

They were Obi-wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.

As they stood ready to cut down more droids, the Republic support ships slowly descended from the sky and prepared to disembark their cargo of Clone regiments, who would take to the surface, and begin to slowly take the system from the Separatists.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _In the space between Belderone and its moon_.

The battle for control of the Belderone system was in full swing.

All across the system, Republic and Separatist warships of all types were hammering away at each other from close range. Blue and red laser blasts flew back and forth, peppering each sides hulls with fire and holes. Chunks of burning debris were blown off of the hulls of each side's warships, where they floated off into space. Sometimes, if the ships were close enough, the debris would hit the capital ships and severely damage them.

Star-fighters from both sides engaged in dogfights around the warships. They either strafed the hulls of the opposing capital ships, or they engaged in dogfights with the other side's fighters, trying to paint them with a fresh coat of weaponized plasma.

One of those star-fighters was an Eta-2 Actis Interceptor. It was painted with a green fuselage and yellow wings and piloted by Jedi Council member Saesee Tiin. This operation is probably the most important part of the Outer Rim sieges. Belderone was a Separatist fortress worlds. A gateway to the Separatist core worlds. It was also where Count Dooku, the Sith Lord and public leader of the CIS, along with General Grievous and the Separatist War councilors, were hiding out. So because of the importance of this operation, it was all hands on deck.

Master Tiin, however, was having trouble. His fighter was being chased down by several Tri-droid star-fighters. He did everything he could to try and shake them. He twisted and turned. He zigged and zagged. He pulled up and down. But no matter what he did, the droids seemed to follow his every move. Their blaster shots seemed to be getting closer and closer. It seemed like the end for Master Tiin.

But suddenly, out of no where, a fighter came barreling in his direction all cannons firing. But instead of heading for the Jedi master, the blasts flew right pst him and tagged each pursuing fighter with deadly laser bolts. They all exploded, and the Yellow painted Jedi Interceptor that wiped 'em out flew right past Tiin and through the explosions.

Saesee Tiin looked back over his shoulder and smiled. He knew exactly who it was.

It was the Chosen One.

* * *

Anakin Skywalker flew his interceptor towards the Republic warships. They were swarming with fighters from both sides of the conflict. Deciding to lend a hand to his allies, he accelerated straight into the mess of dogfights. ARC-170 and Tri-droids zipped back and forth around the warships.

He eventually picked out a flight of four tri-droid fighters. He tailed them and fired his laser cannons. The two that were furthest away exploded first. A few seconds later, their two friends went to join them in droid Heavan ... or Hell.

Anakin continued to fly across the battle that stretched across the treacherous vacuum of space.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _On the surface of Belderone_ _._

On Belderone itself, the Republic invasion force was heavily engaged with Separatist forces in the air and on the ground.

For the past few days, more than two dozen Jedi were leading thousands of Clone Troopers to take the Planet Belderone. They were assigned to different missions with varying objectives.

Closer to the planet's polar ice caps, Three Jedi, Voolvif Monn, Aayla Secura and Agen Kolar, were ordered to defend a large settlement that the Republic took over at the beginning of the siege, and that was being used as a landing zone.

The three Jedi (two knights and a council member) were surrounded by hundreds of Droid and Clone bodies alike.

At this very moment, they were fighting for their lives against a group of crab droids. Normally, they were about the size of regular spider droid. But these models were about the size of a small building. And instead of brown, they were gray to blend in better with the snow around them. Laser blasts were fired in their direction, but the Jedi managed to deflect every round fired in their direction with ease.

But there were too many of them. The crab droids surrounded the Jedi and increased their firepower. One of the crab droids towered over the three Jedi. A section of its underside glowed red. The glowing section then fired a laser bolt on them. Aayla and Voolvif force dashed to the sides to avoid the blast. But Master Kolar wasn't fast enough. The blast hit him, but it didn't kill him. Instead, it enveloped him in a strange energy bubble of some kind.

Aayla and Voolvif were soon hit as well, enveloping them with the same energy bubble.

What the Jedi had just experienced was the deployment of the Gungan created bubble wort projector. It was an energy device that immobilized its target with an energy shield.

The Three Jedi seemed trapped, with no way to escape.

But that's when the force seemed to favor them, as a forth Jedi zipped out of no where and brought his blade through the leg of one of the droids. The droid toppled over and collapsed. The new Jedi then plunged his blade straight through the wounded droid's head.

The imprisoned Jedi saw that it was Anakin Skywalker, who then proceeded to use the force to fling the severed leg into another droid, piercing it's head and causing it too explode.

That's when a squad of Jet trooper clones from the 501st Legion, led by Captain Rex, decided to drop in. As they arched through the air and came back down, they fired their blasters at the remaining droids. Several dozen droids were shot up and destroyed. They even managed to destroy one of crab droids before it could try to immobilize Skywalker, who was finishing off the other crab droids. He dashed under both droids, slicing his blade through their undersides and causing them to go up in a pair of brilliant explosions.

When Anakin was done, he smiled at what he achieved and waved his hand in the direction of the imprisoned Jedi. Their bubble prisons popped, freeing the Jedi.

They raised their fists in the air and let out an triumphant cheer.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Invisible Hand, Grievous' flagship, in orbit above Belderone_.

Grievous was on the bridge of his flagship, the Invisible Hand.

All across the system, Republic warships were continuing to pour into the system. 60 of them were dealing with the invasion of Belderone. The rest were fanning out to invade the outer rim.

"Sir, incoming message from Count Dooku," one droid said to him.

"Put it through," Grievous growled.

A holo-projector flared to life in front of Grievous. It projected an image of Count Dooku.

"Yes Count Dooku," Grievous said with a bow to the stoic figure in front of him.

"General ... your recent missteps on Belderone have become unacceptable. It has now become too dangerous for the Separatist War council to stay," Dooku said.

"I have not lost yet," Grievous barked. "The Jedi will know suffering when I am through with them".

"I am counting on it," Dooku said. "But not now, with the Separatist council in the crossfire. You will retrieve them from the planet and withdraw from the surface. You will then take them to the planet Utapau. After that, you will prepare to execute our next phase in this war. Is that clear?" Dooku asked.

Grievous bowed.

"Yes my lord," he said. Dooku's hologram fizzled out and disappeared. That's when Grievous turned to his droid officer. "Get the War council on board and prepare to bombard the surface."

"Yes General," the super tactical droid said.

* * *

Later, when the leaders were all on board, Grievous turned to the gunnery crew.

"Target the major population centers not under our control and open fire!" Grievous barked.

"Roger roger," the droids said before they turned to their stations.

Moments later, every cannon in the Separatist fleet exploded with fury. The laser bolts slammed into the cities on the surface, blasting them into complete oblivion. Buildings were blasted apart, and people choked to death on the smoke if they weren't burned alive or crushed by falling debris.

When Grievous was satisfied with his work, he ordered the fleet to pull out of the system.

On the surface, Separatist citizens and Republic invaders alike were destroyed by this horrible bombardment. When the dust settled, twenty Jedi, thousands of Clones, and ten million Separatist citizens lie dead.

It was a testament to how the desperate the Separatist forces were in winning this war. They were willing to inflict catastrophic suffering. Even on their own people.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _On the outskirts of the capital city, Belderone, one month later_.

Heavy rainfall was hitting the war-torn landscape of Belderone with a fury that mother nature was very well known for.

The ground was water logged.

Entire areas were flooded.

Every step that anyone made caused a splash of water that went up to their knees.

But believe it or not, the never-ending rainstorm that lasted for several weeks was not the biggest concern that people had. It was trying to stay alive in the battle that left great scars on the Belderonian landscape. Entire towns and villages were blasted apart by artillery from both sides, before their remains were eventually buried in the waterlogged and muddy soil.

For weeks now, since Grievous implemented his devastating scorched earth policy, the capital city of Belderone has been under siege. A massive dome shield was deployed by the CIS defenders to keep the city in their hands for as long as possible. Meanwhile, the Republic invasion force was bombarding the city from their trenches and bunkers a safe distance away from the city.

The Republic artillery was so great, the it drowned out the sounds of thunder that were caused by the rain.

But as the battle carried on, with seemingly no end in sight, a hooded/bearded man was trying to get some much needed sleep in one of the deep trenches erected by the Republic.

There was just one teensy-weensy problem: **_IT WAS ABSOLUTELY FREAKING IMPOSSIBLE!_**

The unceasing rain and artillery barrages both made falling asleep the most daunting task on the field of battle.

Obi-Wan Kenobi was sleeping on one of the benches in the back near the reserve trench line. He tucked his arms in and used them to rest his head on them. It somehow made it slightly easier to fall asleep. That's when freezing cold droplets of water began to drip onto his hooded head. His eyes twitched with every drop of water that hit his head. It eventually woke him up. He looked up just in time for a droplet to hit him in the eye.

"RRmmmm!" He groaned. He sat up and lied back down in a different spot. He assumed the same sleeping position and tried to fall back asleep. That's when more cold droplets began to land on his head again. He opened his eyes again. Realizing that sleep was impossible, he sat back up, crossed his arms, and scowled in frustration.

Obi-Wan's situation was a testement to miserable life in the trenches.

As Obi-Wan continued to sit in his misery, he heard the roar of a rocket pack getting closer and closer. he turned to his right just in time to see Commander Cody hover down from the upper fortifications above the trenches.

"General Kenobi," Cody said.

"Commander Cody," Obi-Wan responded.

"The Siege goes well," Cody reported. "With our continued barrage, the shield should be down in three months".

Obi-Wan was visibly surprised, and annoyed. "But we've been here month already".

"Yes sir. We're right on schedule," Cody said before he rocketed off back towards the front line, leaving behind a trail of smoke from his jet-pack.

Obi-wan crossed his arms and sighed in frustration.

A few moments later, amidst the sounds of explosions, artillery, blaster fire off in the distance, and rain fall hitting the roof of the Republic fortifications, Anakin casually walked into the trenches carrying a bag over his shoulder.

He pulled up a stool and sat at the table across from Obi-Wan. He placed the bag on the table and rubbed his hands together, whilst wearing a huge grin on his face.

Obi-Wan looked at the bag between him and Anakin with one eye brow raised above the other one.

"What is that?" He asked.

Anakin smiled.

"Lunch," he said before he opened up the bag, only to reveal a pile of various bugs, beetles, worms, and God knows what else.

They were all alive, because of coarse they were.

Anakin reached down and grabbed a couple of meaty looking beetles before he tossed them into his mouth.

Obi-Wan recoiled in disgust as Anakin's mouth made a crunching noise as he chewed through the bugs.

"How can you eat that?" Obi-Wan asked, visibly uncomfortable.

Anakin smiled as he continued to casually eat the bugs he just tossed into his mouth. "But master, you're the one that always taught me to feed on the living force".

"That's not what I-," Obi-Wan tried to say before Anakin popped another handful of bugs into his mouth. Obi-wan's disgusted look turned into a blank stare.

Anakin continued to pop more bugs into his mouth before he crunched through them. **(Insert Hakuna Matata joke)**

"Where did you get that stuff anyway?" Obi-Wan asked.

"From the enemy camp," Anakin said casually.

"What? You were there?" Obi-Wan asked in surprise. "What were you doing?"

"Reconnaissance," Anakin said, holding another beetle.

"How did you penetrate the shield?" Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin slurped on a worm that was about a foot long until it was all gone. With his Bug cuisine almost gone, the bottom of the bag was visible. It turned out to be an ancient map with the old parts of the capital city on it. He pointed at a tune that led into the city from below.

"I found this ancient sewer..." Anakin said as he fan his finger up the tub that led into the city. "...that goes right under the old city".

Obi-Wan looked at his old apprentice with a stoic look on his face.

"So I assume our plan is crawl through the sewer, work our way to the shield generator, fight our way through the defenses, blow up the generator, knocking out the shield, and all our troops swarm in and overwhelm the enemy?" Obi-Wan deduced.

"Yup," Anakin said as he smiled and padded his hands together to get the bug grime of his hands. He then got up and walked off. "Let's go".

Obi-wan's frown slowly turned into a slight smile.

* * *

Republic artillery cannons and gun towers, manned by clone troopers of the 212th Attack Battalion, continued to hammer away at the shield dome. Blue laser bolts flew across the space between the city and the Republic trenches. Red, orange, and black colored explosions dotted the shield.

As Cody said, this was going to take another three months.

But at a spot that served as an anchor for the Republic's right flank, near a manhole cover that led under ground, two Jedi Knights were on their way to turning three months into about three hours.

* * *

Underneath "no man's land", Anakin and Obi-Wan waded through waist deep water that was full of ancient debris.

Obi-Wan looked at his surroundings as he followed Anakin through the debris filled sewer.

"What an incredible smell you've discovered," Obi-Wan said sarcastically.

Anakin smiled.

A little while later, the pair came up on a wall of debris that appears to have collapsed long ago, blocking the tunnel and apparently cutting off the two Jedi.

"What now?" Obi-Wan asked.

"We swim," Anakin said as he dove into the water.

"I knew you were going to say that," Obi-Wan said before he followed his apprentice under the water.

A few moments later, on the other side of the cave in, the two Jedi Knights poked their heads out of the water. They swam over to a pile of rocks and use them to climb out of the water. They then came up on a pair of ladders. One was severely damaged, so they both had to take the other one. They grabbed a hold of the ladder and began to climb up and out of the sewer.

* * *

A little while later, at the top of the ladder, Anakin gently lifted the manhole cover to reveal a massive room filled with battle droids. They were all guarding a massive power generator that beamed and hummed with red energy. If this thing was knocked out, then the shield would deactivate. Thus allowing the Clone army outside to swarm in and wipe out the enemy forces.

Obi-Wan climbed up next to him.

"Let's go," Anakin said, grabbing his lightsaber hilt.

Obi-Wan reacted quickly.

"No no no no, wait!" He whispered before he yanked Anakin back down into the manhole.

Two battle droids, who had their backs facing the room, and the manhole cover, were standing guard.

"Did you say something?" One asked.

"Negative," the other responded.

Back underneath the manhole, Anakin opened it back up to get a peak of the room with his former master.

"There are alternatives to fighting," Obi-wan said as he reached down to his utility belt. He pressed a button on one of the pouches, causing it to pour a handful of marble shaped objects into Obi-Wan's other hand. He dumped them onto the ledge in front of them. He then used the force to gently push them across the room.

"That's no fun," Anakin said softly.

The small spherical objects that Obi-Wan deployed fanned out and rolled across the room, passing by the feet of several unsuspecting battle droids. Eventually, they rolled up right in front of the shield generator itself.

For a moment, nothing happened. Suddenly, each sphere went up in a powerful explosion which overtook the entire room.

The generator and the droids guarding it were all wiped out. Obi-Wan and Anakin dove back down into the sewer to escape the blast.

Their mission was accomplished.

* * *

Back inside of the Republic trenches, Clone Troopers from the 212th Attack Battalion were board out of their skulls. For over a month now, Troopers have been trying to pass the time.

Lt. Waxer was standing next to another trooper, who was manning a repeating blaster turret (one of many that guarded the trenches). They looked out over 'no man's land', which was basically a sea of mud and death that separated the two sides of this war. Behind him, several troopers from 'Alpha Seven' were keeping themselves as busy as possible. Boil, Gus, and Woolley were all playing a game of Sabacc. Chopper was putting together some nifty little souvenirs with some battlefield shrapnel. Jester was cleaning and re-cleaning his weapon. And Punch was going to town on a punching bag.

"Grrrrrr! I can't take this anymore!" Woolley complained.

"What, losing?" Boil asked.

"No. And screw you. I'm can't take this waiting anymore. I want to get this over with and get out of here. But we gotta stay here and freeze our asses off, while we wait for that shield to disappear," Woolley said.

"I don't like it anymore than you do," Waxer said. "But we need to fall in line and be patient."

"He's right," said a new voice.

Everyone turned around to see Clone Marshal Commander Cody walking up to them with his helmet off, revealing his scarred face.

The clones dropped what they were doing and stood at attention.

"At ease," Cody said, allowing the troopers to relax. "Look, we're all tired, and we're all anxious to get moving. But we need to be patient. The Separatists are being driven back everyday. We need to keep it together. And we need to keep hitting them hard so that they don't have a chance to breath. We're going to keep hitting them with everything we've got until that shield goes down. Even if it does take three months".

Suddenly, the shield crackled quite loudly behind them. Everyone looked to see that it was flickering wildly. Then it finally fizzled out and dropped completely, leaving the city wide open.

The clones were all dumbstruck.

"Or three seconds," Jester cracked.

Cody put his helmet on began barking orders into his com-link.

"All units, the shield is down. Report to your stations," Cody ordered. "Alpha Seven, you're on me".

Waxer and his men scrambled to get their equipment ready.

"How did the shield go down so quickly?" Woolley asked.

"Who cares?" Punch shot back. "You got what you wanted. No point questioning it".

The troopers grabbed their equipment, including rocket packs.

Cody climbed up and over the top of the trench. His men followed him, as hundreds of other clones filled the trenches.

"All units attack! Let's go!" He ordered before he rocketed up into the air.

Cody was followed by Alpha Seven and hundreds of other clones. As this happened, dozens of ARC-170 Star-fighters began to fly towards the city. Dozens of AT-RT walkers and TX-130 fighter tanks began to travel across no man's land and attack the city from the ground. Swarms of droid star-fighters lifted off to meet the Republic attackers. Explosions blossomed across the city as the battle went into full swing.

Amidst the chaos of the battle, two Jedi Knights were casually walking back towards the Republic trench line.

As they walked back, Obi-Wan placed a complimentary hand on Anakin's shoulder.

"Nice job my friend. Nice Job."

Anakin smiled.

 _'Another successful battle with the enemy'._

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Wawaatt Archipelago, near the city of Kachiro, Kashyyyk_.

On the Wookie home-world of Kashyyyk, a wild grantaloupe has its head down in the grass. The furry horned creature was helping itself to a free meal, made up of the aforementioned grassland. Suddenly, loud rustling in the trees caught the grantaloupe's attention. It swiftly lifted its head from the grass in the direction the rustling. That's when it decided to take off running.

Overlooking the animal in the trees, were two Wookies. An adult male named Tarkov, and his young son Jaccoba. The two were on a hunting trip.

"Grrraaawwwrrrr!" Tarkov barked to his son.

Jaccoba had a spear in one hand, and was holding onto a vine with the other. He nodded in compliance and used the vine to swing down from the tree and across the jungle floor. This trip he was on wasn't just for hunting meat. It was about taking his first steps into adulthood. This was a right of passage.

He swung above the retreating grantaloupe and threw his spear like a javelin into its direction. The spear missed it's intended mark, passing just over the animal's back harmlessly.

The wayward spear continued flying until hitting the vines in the background. But something was strange. For one, a spear shouldn't break in half when it hits vines. And two, vines shouldn't made a loud metallic echo when struck by a foreign object.

Jaccoba let go of the vine and landed safely on the ground right in front of the shrubbery.

His father soon followed him.

They both inspected the vines. Tarkov reached out and grabbed a hold of the vines. He yanked on them, and they all suddenly seemed to fall all once. The vines fell to reveal a large brown ship of some kind. But before they could inspect it any further, the ship hummed to life, and a pair of large doors opened up. As they opened, a ramp unfolded to reveal a dark cargo bay.

It was full of white glowing eyes. The sounds of humming engines and clanking metallic footsteps filled the area. Thinking quickly, Tarkov grabbed his son and carried him out of the way. They climbed the nearest tree. When they were safely above the ground, they were able to look back down at the landscape, only to see that it was completely covered in tanks and infantry from the Separatist droid army.

It was an invasion.

Kashyyyk was under attack.

Tarkov and Jacob looked down in horror as they bore witness to the opening stages of the invasion of their home-world.

"Rrrrwwwwaa-hhaawr-gggrrrr," Tarkov said to his son.

Jacob continued to look down on the Separatist army in horror.

* * *

Kashyyyk wasn't the only planet that was under attack.

All along the outer rim, vulnerable planets that were just over the border of contested space were struck.

Even neutral planets weren't safe.

Despite what Republic propaganda said, the Separatist alliance still represented a real danger. The Republic fleet was spread thin. In order to contain this new offensive, the Republic had to strip its home fleet to meet the Navy's demand in the outer rim.

On one planet, the Separatist Navy used it's firepower to burn down entire cities. And amidst the smoking ruins, the droid army was deployed to the surface to subjugate the surviving natives. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of people were restrained at their wrists, necks, and ankles. Every person was linked together in a massive chain of slaves that ran on for miles.

The planet Bal'demnic was also under attack. The Separatist launched the attack to seize control of the great cortosis mines. Mustering what force they could, the native Kon'me people gathered its meager army to meet the Separatists in battle. But they needed help. A token Republic battle group was spared to help blunt the Separatist offensive. Republic warships tried to halt the Separatist landing ships, while the few available star-fighter squadrons did everything they could to intercept the Droid bombers that set the Kon'me cities ablaze. On the coast line, Kon'me forces had forts and cannons built into the cliffs that overlooked the ocean. But they did little to stop the massive spider tanks from rising from the oceans, and climbing up the steep cliffs. Despite the heavy Kon'me artillery and Republic air support, the Separatists literally stepped on the defensive fortresses, leaving them to advance unopposed.

Another planet that was under attack was the Ortolan home-world of Orto. The Republic forces that garrisoned the planet's moons were ambushed, wiped out, and the survivors were force to surrender. With the Republic out of the way, The Confederacy moved quickly to establish a puppet government and suppress any signs of resistance. The Ortolans were forced to watch in stricken horror as thousands of Separatist battle droids marched through the streets of the planet's conquered cities.

One thing was for sure: This was a nightmare.

The Separatists were on the attack.

And as far as many people close to the front were concerned, they were winning.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Observation Deck, Invisible hand,_ _Abregado-rae, Abregado System_.

At the top of the conning tower jutting out from the aft section as Grievous' flagship, two lightsaber wielding figures were sparing.

One was Count Dooku. Head of State for the Confederacy of Independent Systems, and apprentice to the True lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious. The Count used his red blade, with a curved hilt, to block and parry the blows of General Grievous, who was using a green blade and a blue blade to attack the Count.

The cyborg general used his mechanical reflexes to rapidly swing his sabers from side to side, keeping the Count on the defensive.

"Stop using the standard attacks. Use the unorthodox," Dooku lectured as he rapidly switched his blade from hand to hand, parrying the General's vicious yet basic attacks.

Grievous, threw his blue blade up into the air and flipped over onto his hands while striking Dooku with his green blade. He caught the blue blade with his foot and swung his armed foot at Dooku's feet, swiping the ground where Dooku stood seconds ago. Dooku jumped back as Grievous began to renew his offensive by spinning one blade like a propeller.

"How often must I tell you? Control my central line," Dooku ordered.

Grievous swung one blade across and then the other downward. But Dooku dodged both of them, dashing to the side. He stood still and let his guard down (seemingly)

"Good," Dooku complimented.

Grievous charged at Dooku. But the Count merely used the force to trip Grievous and slide him into a stack of crates. The cyborg Kaleesh warrior shook himself off and charged at Dooku again. He somersaulted into the air and launched another attack against Dooku. Swinging his blades wildly as he pushed the Count back.

"You must learn to destroy my focus," Dooku said as he parried the General's strikes while jumping and flipping back like a Jedi. "You're holding the saber too tight," Dooku said as he swung his blade upwards into one of Grievous'. This move caused the blade to be knocked up into the air. Dooku reached up and caught it. "Now too lightly," he said. Then he inspected the blade. "Mmm. A new one?"

Grievous deactivated his other blade.

"Your training has served me well," Grievous said as he placed the saber hilt back on his pelvis. "It has rewarded me with many trophies".

Dooku pointed the deactivated saber hilt at Grievous.

"Don't let you pursuit of trinkets cloud your reality. Remember what I taught you General: If you are to succeed in combat against the best of the Jedi, you must have fear, surprise, and intimidation on your side," Dooku lectured Grievous, who towered over the Count, but listened respectfully nonetheless. "Were if any one element is lacking, it would be best for you to retreat. You must break them before you engage them. Only then will you ensure victory..." Dooku said as Grievous' blade floated up between him and Dooku. "...and have your trophy".

Grievous slowly grabbed the blade out of the air and put it back on his pelvis.

" _Wise council my apprentice_ ," said a new voice. " _Most wise_ ".

It was Darth Sidious. The Dark Lord of the Sith. Sidious who wore a hooded cloak that obscured his face and maintained a mysterious facade. He was also attending via a holographic projector, which was mounted on a walking mechno-chair.

"My master," Dooku said as he gave his master a respectful bow.

" _Report General_ ," Sidious ordered, turning his attention to Grievous. " _What news from the front?_ "

"The strategy is working perfectly my lord," Grievous explained as the mechno-chair carried Sidious' hologram across the room. "The Jedi and their forces are stretched thin across the outer rim worlds ... in a vain attempt to contain our new offensive".

" _Good, good. Now is the time to strike. Now is the time to launch our final operation,_ " Sidious said, holding the undivided attention of his two subordinates. " _Is everything ready for your special mission?_ "

"Yes Lord Sidious," Grievous answered with confidence. "The unsuspecting fools know not what awaits".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Well, that's chapter 11 folks.**

 **In case you are still wondering, I made the original chapters 11-14 into a new clone wars story. (Clone Wars: Republic Commando). Go check it out.**

 **Anyway,** **Feel free to leave your thoughts down in the review section if you wish. Just keep the criticism constructive is all I ask.**

 **The next chapter will explore Ahsoka's continuing adventures and feature the Battle of Coruscant.**

 **Thank you for checking out my story, and thank you for your** **patience.**

 **Until next time, this is Grubkiller, over and out.**


	12. Chapter 12-Fight or flight

_**Me: This is not the Grubkiller you're looking for.**_

 **Weak-minded reader: This is not the Grubkiller we're looking for.**

 _ **Me: You can go about your reading.**_

 **Weak-minded reader: We can go about our reading.**

 _ **Me: Move along.**_

 **Weak-minded reader: Move along.**

* * *

 **Hey folks, Grubkiller here.**

 **This is chapter 12 of FOTR. The upcoming chapters will focus on Ahsoka and the Battle of Coruscant.**

 **Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing, so please don't sue me.**

 **Enjoy the story and leave a review when you're done.**

* * *

 _"I need to get out on my own. I need to find my own path._ "-Ahsoka.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Aleero city, Nessem, Expansion region_.

 _The woman was surrounded by a mist._

 _It was so thick that she could've cut it apart with a knife and eaten it._ _She looked around, confused._

 _"Hello?!" She called out. Her voice echoed through the fog._

 _A hissing noise called to her._ _It sounded like the hissing noise was whispering 'Ahsoka'._

 _This peaked the girl's interest._

 _"Is someone there?" She asked._

 _All of a sudden, the fog lifted, and all hell broke loose._

 _Fire surrounded her, causing the world around her to glow red and orange._

 _"What's going on?!" She called out, to no one in particular._

 _That's when everything around her started exploding. Explosions blossomed all around her, like blooming flowers of fire. It caused heat to wash over her, and smoke to be belched up into the air._

 _The bodies of dead clones surrounded her. She began to shake. That's when she saw her two old masters amongst the bodies._

 _"Master Kenobi! Anakin!" She called out._

 _The all too familiar sounds of battle surrounded her. Out of the fire, hundreds upon hundreds of battle droids marched out onto the orange glowing battlefield, with a masked assassin in front of them. The obviously feminine assassin pointed her red saber at her, signaling the droids behind her to fire their blasters, unleashing a hailstorm of plasma and death._

 _She screamed as she ducked to try and dodge the blasts, but that's when a strange alarm started to blare out loudly. The sound vibrated through her montrals, forcing her to wake abruptly from her dream._

* * *

 _(nightmare ends)_

Ahsoka was ripped from her dreams in a cold sweat. She began to breath in and out heavily, her breasts heaving with anxiety with every sharp breath.

She sat up in the bed, the sheets falling away from her body, revealing her ... 'revealing' pajamas, which consisted of a short, yet flowing, skirt that showed off her slender legs, and a long-sleeved pajama top that showed off her stomach, back, and waist.

The anxious Togrutan threw herself back into her small bed and began to listen to the sounds outside of her small apartment. As the sounds of speeder horns, sirens, and train whistles entered her apartment, she tried to contemplate what had just happened in her sleep.

She drew the back of her hand across her forehead, and wiped away some sweat. "It was a dream," she said to herself. "It was only a dream".

A quick glance to her right revealed an alarm clock, which was next to her hologram projector. It showed a collage of images that included her friends from the temple, which switched out with a picture of her and Lux, and then to a picture of her master and troopers in the 501st posing in front of a captured CIS banner.

The clock read 6:00 am.

 _'Oh Krief! I'm gonna be late for work'_. She jumped out of the bed and jumped into the shower to wash herself off. When she was done washing up, she went to her dresser and dressed up in a pair of form fitting yoga pants, a short tank top that exposed her navel and hugged her bust nicely, a brown jacket over that, and black knee-high boots. Then she grabbed her duffle bag (which had a few of her meager belongings), a quick bite to eat on the way out the door, as she was on her way to her day job.

* * *

Ahsoka Tano ... the former Jedi, former Grand Army officer, and former defender of the Republic ... was now a mechanic.

Ever since the incident above Shili, the Jedi turned mechanic wanted to get away from the war as much as possible. So she went to the neutral shipbuilding planet of Nessem, and has found honest work for a workshop that specialized in fixing speeders. Something that she was exceptionally good at, thanks to her mech-savvy former master.

It was a long walk to her job, so she had to get moving if she wanted to be on time.

But as she continued walking down her usual path, she saw a peculiar sight.

A Twi'lek woman and two little twi'lek children, her son and daughter presumably, were cornered by two Weequay gangsters. They were ransacking the twi'lek's valuables. A forth twi'lek, an adult male (presumably the father), lied down unconscoious and covered in cuts and bruises, while being ransacked by a third thug.

"That's right darling. Keep coughing up the credits and we'll be on our way," the lead pirate said, pointing a long dagger at the mother, who threw credits on the ground for the thugs.

The mother breathed in and out shakily as she dropped several credits on the ground, and a bracelet. All while her children trembled in fear behind her. The little girl had her stuffed loth-cat ripped away from her and tossed aside. The woman tried to protect her children by giving up all of the credits.

"Please sir," the mother begged as she clasped her hands together. "That is all we have".

The weequay boss smirked and waved the blade closer to her chest.

"No, it ain't," he said as he hooked the dagger onto the woman's shirt collar. His henchmen chuckled.

The mother began to tear up and whimper as the front of her shirt was torn open, ripping out a plunging v-neck that exposed her large breasts and her stomach. The children began to cry as the Weequay thugs prepared to have their way with their mother.

"What's going on?" Ahsoka asked.

The three gangsters and the trembling mother all looked in the direction of Ahsoka. At first they were surprised and confused. But then they all looked Ahsoka up in down, their eyes lingering on her ... womanly assets ... for a little longer than she would've liked.

 _'Jeez. My eyes are up here, perverts!'_ Ahsoka thought to herself, disgusted.

"Well, 'ello there love. Come to show me and the boys a good time as well, have we?" The lead gangster said as he waved his dagger in her direction. His two henchmen chuckled and walked up to her. One of them reached out to touch her, but Ahsoka stepped back maintained a serious stance.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size? That way it'd be a fair fight," she said.

The thugs chuckled some more.

"I don't think you understand how being a pirate works love. But we really don't care about playing fair," the lead gangster chuckled.

"I actually meant that it would be a fair fight for you," Ahsoka sneered.

The pirates looked at each other confused. But then they became angry.

"I don't know if you've noticed here ya' brat, but there's three of us and only one of you," the leader said.

"Then grab a couple more guys and it'll be a fair fight," she sneered again.

"That's it. Make her squeal boys. We're gonna make sure this lasts forever," the lead thug said.

The two henchmen walked up to her and went to subdue her. But when they were close enough, Ahsoka sprung into action.

She pounced on one henchman's neck and used her arms to swing herself around him, delivering a powerful kick to the other henchman's jaw and knocking him down. She then used her weight to pull the thug, that she used to swing her, down onto the ground head first. The other henchman had gotten back up to charge at her. Ahsoka quickly squated down and spun around as she extended her leg, using it to trip the thug, and send him straight into the other pirate that she just floored, sending both of them back to the floor. She did a double back flip to distance herself from the two henchmen.

"Grrrr! What ar' you idiots doin'! Get ove' there and beat 'er!" the boss scolded his henchmen.

Both henchmen started to get back up, and they saw Ahsoka in her fighting stance. After shaking themselves off, they gathered their fighting strength and charged at her. Of coarse, it was no use. Ahsoka jumped into the air between them, kicked her legs out and spun like a propeller. She simultaneously kicked their heads several times until they fell over.

She landed in a crouched position. Then she looked on either side of her to assess the damage. One of the thugs groaned and could barely move. But the other one, who was much bigger than the other one, towered over Ahsoka and prepared to lunge towards her. She swiftly stood up and turned towards him, swinging her foot back and then she swung it forward, delivering a vicious kick that was aimed between the assailant's legs. There was a loud snap. The assailant froze for a moment. Then, as Ahsoka stepped back, he let out a soft, high-pitched whimper as he grabbed his midsection with both hands and sank to his knees, before finally collapsing to the ground.

Ahsoka heard a blaster arming behind her. She spun around just in time to see the lead pirate aiming a blaster at her.

"Time to die bitch," he said before he fired.

Acting quickly, Ahsoka held up her gloved hands in front of her face. The first shot hit her wrists, but it was blunted and absorbed by her cortosis armlets. The pirate was stunned. But he fired again. Ahsoka continued using her armlets as if they were lightsabers, blocking shot after shot. _**(A/N: Insert Wonder Woman Joke).**_ That's when Ahsoka reached out with one hand and used the force. Suddenly, the crook's blaster flew right out of his hands and into Ahsoka's. She used the force to make the blaster collapse into a ball of crumpled metal before tossing it to the ground.

The pirate was stunned. So was the exposed Twi'lek mother and her children.

"You're a Je-je-jedi?" He stuttered.

" _Used_ to be," she corrected as she started to walk closer.

The thug swiftly turned behind the twi'lek mother, who gasped, and held his dagger to her throat.

"Mommy no!" The little girl screeched as she was held by her slightly older brother.

Ahsoka took a stance, and the criminal held the tip of his blade even closer to the mother's throat.

"Don't even think about it Jeedai!" The lead thug threatened. "One more step and this one'll bleed out in front of the little kiddies".

Ahsoka nearly lunged forward, but she stopped herself. She stood up straight and inhaled deeply. She raised both hands at shoulder level and held out her palms as she stepped back. "You win this round," Ahsoka said.

The twi'lek mother started sobbing, realizing that she wasn't getting out of this situation.

"That's better," the pirate said before he grabbed one of the woman's firm breasts and began to nuzzle his nose into her rear lekku. "Now, why don't you run off and leave us-" The crook started to say before an invisible force suddenly ripped his blade out of his hand. "GAH! What the 'ell!"

That's when Ahsoka threw her own blade like a propellor, which was aimed at the lead thug's shoulder. It stuck deep into his shoulder up to the hilt. He screamed in pain. Then Ahsoka force jumped into the air over the mother's shoulder and delivered a swift kick to the knife that was jammed into the thug's shoulder as she landed, causing him to scream even louder. The force of the kick put him on his ass, and it also pushed Ahsoka's blade out of the other side of the screaming thug's shoulder. In her peripheral vision, Ahsoka could see the kids run into their half-naked mother's arms.

Ahsoka stood above the injured thug. "I said that you won _this_ round. I didn't say that it was the _only_ round".

She then heard the other two thugs about to charge her. Thinking quickly, she used the force to lift the injured boss into the air and then she swiftly turned around, while throwing the injured boss at the charging idiots. They all grunted as they hit the ground. Ahsoka grabbed her bloody blade and pointed it at the three thugs.

They raised their hands.

"Get lost," she ordered.

The thugs nodded their heads and began to carry their injured buddy away.

Ahsoka turned to the twi'lek family. They were all standing above the male, who was regaining consciousness. The mother kneeled next to her husband and held his head to her chest, while the sobbing children held onto their father.

The former Jedi noticed a small stuffed loth-cat, which was colored purple. She went to pick it up and walked over to the Twi'lek family. Ahsoka took off her brown jacket and put it over the mother's shoulder, realizing that she needed more than she did, since the front of her shirt was ripped open, revealing her well-trimmed blue stomach and firm breasts. The family watched her as she kneeled in front of them.

Ahsoka kneeled in front of the family, presenting the stuffed toy to the little girl. "It's alright. You're safe now. They won't bother you anymore".

The little girl smiled, and Ahsoka smiled back before she began to continue her journey to work.

"Thank you master Jedi. We won't forget this," the mother said.

Ahsoka stopped walking and looked back over her shoulder.

"I'm not a Jedi anymore. But anytime".

And with that, it was back off to work she went.

* * *

Because of the latest Separatist offensive, dozens of planets were hit hard. Including some neutral planets. It caused a mass exodus out of the war-zone and into many planets within the mid and inner rims. Nessem was one of the neutral worlds that've been hit hard by this crisis. Millions of people and their familes were flooding the shipyards with thousands of personal space ships, yachts, and even luxury cruisers.

Over at Joe's workshop, the place was packed. A few dozen speeders were lined up outside. The passengers honked their horns, which was the universal sign that you needed help, or that you were just an asshole.

The manager was a Whiphid named Joe Razz. He covered by long yellow-white fur and had stubby fur-covered tails. His face was elongated, with a prominent forehead, and long, bowed cheekbones. Like all Whiphids, his face was furless apart from a few hairs on his lips and chin. Two large tusks protrude from the lower jaws, one of which was broken, and his massive arms ended with thick three-fingered hands, his fingers ending in sharp claws. He wore a brown leather vest along with a tool belt. He moved around the garage, going over the manifest, the work schedule, and he was checking off on all of the workers who came in today.

He went to call out for one of the workers. A human male named Max.

"Hey Max!" He called out.

"Yeah Joe?" The human mechanic called back.

He was one floor above, working on a speeder with a protocol droid companion of his, named TG-76.

"Have you seen Ashla anywhere? I can't find her anywhere!" Joe called back.

"I don't know," Max said.

"Perhaps she is running late," TG said. "There has been a lot of traffic recently," he finished saying, referring to the refugee crisis.

"Alright. And hey, make sure you fix Mr. Micron's speeder properly. I don't need to refund another customer because of your crazy antics," Joe said.

"Relax Joe. You worry too much," Max said, before he and TG got back to work.

"Ugh," Joe groaned before he walked off. ' _HONK HONK_!' "Take it easy, I'll be with you in a minute".

That's when the older whiphid saw a familiar togrutan running into the garage. She wore yoga pants, a short tank top, boots, arm-braces, and fingerless gloves. Joe walked over to her.

"There you are," Joe said, causing Ashla (Ahsoka) to stop dead in her tracks. "Where've you been".

"I-," she started before Joe raised his hand, cutting her off.

"Doesn't matter. Look, I'm trying to run a garage, not a community daycare center. We've got a busy day ahead of us. We've got ten more speeders to work on before lunch if we want to stay on schedule. Now get to work on those power couplings". Joe ordered. _'HONK HOOONNK!'_ "Bah! Keep your shirt on, I'm coming," he groaned.

Ashla nodded and rushed over to her work station.

"Another day, another credit".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Aleero city spaceport, hideout of Scorza's Gang_.

In a different part of the city, the three gang members that Ahsoka kicked the tar out of were limping back into their hideout.

It was the hideout of Scorza, a Weequay pirate, who's gang was forced to come to Nessem because of the escalating conflict in the outer rim. Instead of attacking cargo ships, they were forced to dock their ship and rob from people across the capital city.

The scarred Weequay allowed a kowakian monkey lizard to climb around his chair as he had his lunch.

That's when one of his subordinates rushed in.

"Boss. I'm sorry to bother you during lunch, but ... Trax and his boys are back," the pirate said.

Scorza waved his hand.

The lackey rushed out of the room. Moments later, First Mate Trax and his two buddies walked in. Scorza looked at Trax's bandaged shoulder with interest. "What the bloody 'ell happened to you?" He asked as he sipped on a glass of wine.

"Sir. We got busted." Trax said.

"I can see that, but by who?" Scores pressed.

One of Trax's companions stepped forward and presented a hologram of them getting their asses kicked by a togrutan girl. "Some ex-jedi brat sir ambushed us".

Scorza leaned forward in his seat, looking at the hologram with interest. "Freeze the image". He ordered. The hologram rewound until it froze, giving everyone a better view of the assailant's face. "Well what do we have here?" He asked. He smiled and laughed. "Gentlemen, we're going out on a job. It's payday".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Joe's workshop_.

It was a few hours past lunch time, and all of the employees were hard at work, trying to satisfy their customers. Meanwhile, Ahsoka was lying down underneath a speeder, installing a power coupling with a wrench. One of her co-workers, an Rodian named Yaz, was in the pilot's seat. He was ready to fire up the engines as soon as Ahsoka was done.

She rolled out from underneath the speeder when she was done.

"Okay Yaz, fire her up," she called out.

The Rodian technician flipped a few switches and pushed a lever on the dashboard forward. The engine revved up until it floated off of the ground and its engine whined. He smiled and gave Ahsoka a thumbs up.

She smiled. "Alrighty, that's another repaired speeder".

"Nice going beautiful," Max said as he walked up with another worker named Zan, a Zabrak with tan skin and short horns growing out of his scalp. "Wanna celebrate over dinner and a show tonight?" Max asked as he glanced at Ahsoka's chest and exposed navel.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes and shook her head, realizing that she was about to go head to head with another one of max's attempt to hit on her ... and any other member of the female race.

"Sure. You can pick me up at my place at around ... ( _'looks at her non existant watch')_ ... never o' clock," Ahsoka said.

Yaz and Zan both started to bust out laughing.

"Ah come on, you know you can't resist me baby," Max said. "The feistier you are, the harder I'll try".

"The harder you try to flirt with me, the harder I'll beat the snot out of you," Ahsoka said.

They all started to chuckle. Then they started to talk.

"So guys, what do you think of this refugee crisis?" Zan eventually asked.

"I think it's sad. All of these people are forced to flee from their homes with almost nothing but the clothes on their backs, and are then forced to live in miserable conditions," Ahsoka said, her Jedi philosophy of helping those in need coming to the surface.

"I don't know. I don't like the idea of all these people coming here all at once," Max said.

"And how do we know that they're _all_ refugees?" Zan said.

"How could you say that? These people are in need," Ahsoka said.

Zan raised his hands in a defensive posture. "Look Ashla, I'm not saying that all of these people are here to start shit up. But the thing is, well, the crime rate has been shooting up recently," Zan said. "So I feel like the Government should do a better job vetting the people instead of saying ' _come one, come all_ ".

"Yeah, and our taxes have to go up to help these people. I don't have a lot of money as is, and I have a family that I need to support. Not a thousand families that should be supporting themselves," Yaz said.

Ahsoka started thinking of the thugs she ran into earlier, guessing that they could've come in with the Refugees.

 _'I never thought about it like that. Maybe there is some merit to what they're saying.'_

For most of Ahsoka's life, some would argue, she'd been inside of a bubble. The Jedi Order taught her all of the philosophy that she knew. The Republic told her everything she knew about the Separatist and what the war was all about. But if she didn't step out of that bubble, she never would've been able to try and understand other people's real world problems. That's how she was able to meet her boyfriend, Lux Bonteri. In a way, she still had much to learn.

But before she could respond to what her co-workers were espousing, the sound of people chattering became much louder.

"What the hell?" Max asked.

Everyone looked to see everyone gathered near the front entrance.

"What's going on?" Yap asked.

"I don't know, I can't see past the crowd," Ahsoka said.

One of the workers walked up to a group of what looked to be mercenaries. "Hey, what they hell are you doing here? This is a private busi-," the employee said before one of the thugs shot him in the face.

Everyone screamed as the employee hit the ground, dead.

The thugs were all armed Weequays. As they entered the garage, they all fanned out and began searching the premises.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen," one thug said. "Tonight's performance is brought to you by random acts of violence".

The thugs walked around and began firing up at the ceiling. People screamed and hit the deck, lying down completely flat on the ground. The pirates continued to fire randomly in at the ceiling. Some of them began to shoot at repair droids, work benches, and some of the speeders.

"Damnit! That was Mr Micron's speeder. I just tuned it up!" Max exclaimed.

"Who cares, now get down!" Zan snapped.

Ahsoka went with the co-workers and began to hide underneath some of the equipment and machinery.

"What do they want with this place?" Yaz asked Ahsoka.

"I don't know," Ahsoka said. "But I think we're about to find out".

"Boy I love me job," one of the pirates said.

The pirate, Trax, stood up on a damaged speeder to get everybody's attention. "Alright everybody. Here's what's up: We don't really care about anything in your workshop. n But by all means, feel free to fork over your credits. Anyway, we're here for a Togrutan brat named Ahsoka Tano," the pirate said, holding up her holographic image, which was big enough for someone to clearly see her facial features from a distance. Ahsoka lowered her head in disgrace as her co-workers looked at her in surprise. "She's worth a lot to the Separatists," Trax continued. "Now, if you kindly send 'er our way, we'd be happy to leave you all to continue your miserable, worthless lives".

That's when a Pirate walked by her.

She rolled out from under the speeder that she had worked on with Yaz earlier and crouch walked behind the unsuspecting Weequay pirate.

Ahsoka quickly grabbed her cortosis knife, jumped up, and hooked one of her arms around the pirate's neck. As he struggled in her grasp, she used her knife hand to slit his throat, causing blood to flow out of his neck. She dropped the pirate and let him with in pain on the floor.

Several pirates saw her do it.

"There she is!" One shouted.

"That's right!" Ahsoka shouted as she jumped up on another speeder. "I'm right here. So why don't you come and get me?"

The pirates aimed their blasters at her and opened fire.

Ahsoka ducked, dodged, cart-wheeled and flipped around, avoiding the oncoming shots. She also began to use her cortosis armlets to start blocking their shots. Ahsoka also used the force to throw a few of the pirates away from her, or into each other.

The crowd was amazed and terrified as they watched Ahsoka fight off the struggling pirates. But when they came close to her, she realized that she couldn't fight them off all alone.

But her doubt disappeared when suddenly, several of the pirates were gunned down by a hail of laser blasts, forcing the rest to take cover. Ahsoka looked back up to see Joe. The Whiphid was carrying an MWC-35c repeating cannon. AKA, the 'staccato lightning'.

As he fired another volley, he shouted at the pirates. "Get the Hell out of my workshop you wrinkly bastards!" That's when he was shot in the chest and leg, causing him to tumble forward off of the ledge.

"Joe! Nooooo!" Yaz shouted out.

Everyone was shocked at what happened. Their boss ... their friend ... was just gunned down trying to protect his workers.

His family.

"You bastards!" Max shouted.

Suddenly, several of the employees rushed out and attacked the pirates, armed with nothing but wrenches and crowbars. The pirates began to gun down the workers, but it soon became an all out brawl. Ahsoka saw several of her friends being gunned down. She saw Yaz's lifeless body staring at her. Ahsoka kneeled next to him to check his vitals. She closed his eyes. He was dead, and his kids would grow up with out a father. All because those pirates were here for her.

"I'm sorry Yaz. I'm going to make this right," Ahsoka said.

She rushed out of the garage and observed her surroundings. She found an empty spacecraft. It was a single-seater with a hyperdrive. A wrench was laying on the ground, completely untouched. Thinking quickly, she used the force to lift the wrench off of the ground and throw it at one of the pirates to get their attention. It hit Trax, the one she stabbed in the streets earlier.

"OW!" He leaned over and rubbed the back of his head. "What the bloody 'ell was that!?" He turned to see his target waving to her with a smile on her face. He growled as he saw her taking off in a starcraft. "Dammit. Everyone, get your lazy asses out here. Our money is getting' away".

The pirates ignored the brawl inside and ran outside to get back to their ship. As they did, Trax tracked Ahsoka's ship with his rifle and shot a device onto the fuselage.

As the pirates rushed out to chase Ahsoka, the surviving employees rushed out and cheered.

"It's over, we did it!" Zan shouted.

"YEAAHHHH!" The workers shouted as they raised their fists into the air in victory.

* * *

Unbeknownst to anyone, as Ahsoka flew away from the planet to parts unknown, the device that Trax shot onto her fuselage unfolded like a flower and began to blink red and blue lights. Her location was being transmitted to Scorza's gang, who weren't very far behind.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Unknown location_.

Ahsoka's ... borrowed ... starship jumped out of hyperspace. It seemed like it was all clear. She tapped her buttons on the console beneath the scanner. It began to slowly ping the area around her, scanning the endless black void around her for anything suspicious.

"Alright. Where are you pirate sleemos?" She said underneath her breath. When her scanner didn't pick up anything, she smiled. "Hm, looks like you're not there," she said as she began to prep the jump to hyperspace.

Suddenly, the scanner began to beep rapidly and blink orange. It was an alarm. Apparently someone had followed her. A massive freighter shot out of hyperspace right above her. The large ship had a very wide wingspan with laser cannons on the tips. It has six large thrusters on the back, and its hull was dotted with turrets.

She starred up at the massive monstrosity that was casting a shadow above her with her eyes bulging out of their sockets, and her mouth agape.

"Oh Scray!"

* * *

Captain Scorza looked around his ship's bridge to see his crew hard at work. He had two anooba dogs sitting on either side of him, snarling in their sleep.

His first mate, Trax, stood next to him. He was shaking in his boots. He'd already failed the captain twice today. This was his last chance.

A crewmen swiveled around in his seat to turn towards the captain. "Sir. We've located the Jedi brat that escaped us. But she's powering up her hyperdrive. What are your orders?"

The captain just starred forward at the screen in front of him. The ex-jedi's ship was powering up to jump away from his greedy clutches.

"Fire all cannons. Cripple her ship, but do not destroy ... yet," he added on before he chuckled.

His crewmen chuckled as well.

"What are ya' maggots laughin' at! Back to work!" he ordered.

The crewmen scrambled and turned back to their stations.

Several turrets appeared out of the ship's lower hull before they extended their barrels and trained on Ahsoka's ship.

"Cannons are charged and ready captain," another crewmen called out.

"Fire!"

* * *

Ahsoka saw laser bolts explode out of the barrels of each cannon, causing red muzzle flashes to dot the ship's hull.

"Time to leave," she said to herself before she gunned the engine and took off. She zigzagged to the left and right to avoid the initial salvo of enemy cannon fire. when she was further away, the cannons on top of the ship began to fire on the fleeing togrutan's ship. Ahsoka started doing barrel rolls to the left and right in order to evade the enemy fire long enough for the hyperdrive to power up.

More and more laser bolts began to fly past her ship until one of them finally managed to hit her in the the engine section. She felt it slam in her ship, causing the cockpit to shake violently. When the shot hit her ship, Ahsoka was just about to punch in some coordinates. But instead, the shot forced her forward, causing her to accidentally hit the hyperspace lever, causing an alarm to go off inside of the ship.

"Oh boy," she said to herself.

That's when the stars began to elongate around her ship before it was propelled into the blue tunnel of Hyperspace, and to parts unknown.

* * *

Captain Scorza was fuming.

Everybody that was on the bridge was in stunned silence.

"Trax, you'd better give me a good reason that I shouldn't kill you on the spot," he seethed. His dogs stood up and growled, ready to pounce on the underperforming first mate.

The nervous pirate turned to one of the crewmen. "Please tell me that we're still getting that signal".

The crewman turned around and looked at his screen. "We are sir".

Trax breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Well Trax, perhaps you still have your uses. Now set a coarse for that signal and follow that Jedi brat!"

The crew went back to work around him, and soon, his ship was flying through hyperspace to go after their quarry.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Concordia, Mandalore system_.

"But Ma'am, if we launch an attack on Sun'dari now, then we'll be slaughtered. It's suicide," a Mandalorian super-commando said, voicing his concern.

He was speaking to Bo-Katan Kryze. She was a red-headed woman with a petite and athletic body. She also wore silver armor with a blue and black under-suit. Her equipment consisted of a jet-pack, and several different kinds of weapons. Kryze was in charge of a Mandalorian resistance movement known as the Nite Owls, a remnant of the para-military group known as Death Watch, that broke away when Darth Maul killed its original leader, created the Shadow Collective (which was led by some of Kryze's traitorous former comrades), and seized the thrown of Mandalore.

Kryze held her helmet under her arm and looked at the holo-map of the system. The planet Mandalore itself was under Maul's total control, save for a few small holdouts that the Nite Owls were in contact with. Shadow Collective warships patrolled every part of the system around the clock.

"We have reinforcements on the way. If we gather our forces and launch a devastating strike on Maul's forces, then the people will rise up with us and overthrow him," she said, confident in her plan.

"But even if that were to happen, Maul has too much firepower. He will crush any opposition and punish our people. We need more time to gather-," another one of her lieutenants started to say.

That's when she banged her free fist on the holo-table, getting everyone's attention.

"Dammit, we don't have time to wait around. We need to strike now. Everyday we don't destroy Maul, we allow him to consolidate his rule even further. And we allow him to gain resources for his master plan. If we don't strike soon, then all of us will pay for it, and not just Mandalore or our colonial possessions, but the entire Galaxy is as stake," Kryze said before she lowered her head and sighed. "And my sister will have died for nothing".

Bo-Katan was the sister of Mandalore's late ruler, Duchess Satine Kryze.

Everyone lowered their heads in contemplation and worry.

Suddenly, a loud buzzing noise started to sound out over the camp, causing everyone to be put on their toes.

"Report!" Kryze shouted.

One warrior, who was manning the sensor relay, turned around in his chair to face her. "Ma'am, the proximity alarm is going off. Two ships around closing in fast," he said.

"Maul's forces?" Kryze asked.

"No. But it looks like they're about to pass right over us," he said.

Kryze and her lieutenants rushed out to try and look for the mystery ships in question. For several short moments, nothing happened. That's when they saw what looked to be a single-seat ship, that was trailing smoke, streaking over the camp before disappearing over the Horizon. Seconds later, the camp began to rumble, causing everything in the camp to shake violently. Then, a large shadow was cast over the camp, making everyone look above to see a much larger second ship. It roared over the camp and continued to fly in the direction of the first ship. As it did so, several smaller transports began to fly out of it and fly off in the same direction.

"What the Hell was that?" One of Kryze's people asked.

"I don't know. But we'd better go check it out before Maul's people come to have a look," Kryze said before she put her helmet on. "Scramble the Fang fighters and prepare for battle!"

She then ran off towards the landing platforms with several other warriors. About ten minutes later, several Kom'rk class shuttles and fang fighter escorts lifted off and flew in the direction of the two mystery ships.

Little did Kryze know, this day was about to get a whole lot more interesting.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Mandalore System, unknown location_.

Ahsoka flew her fighter to the surface. An alarm was blaring inside of the cockpit. Her ship broke through the atmosphere above Concordia and began to rapidly descend from the sky. After a few minutes, she went through the clouds and was soon above the ground. Burnings slivers of her ship began to tare away from the hull and disintegrate.

So far, it's been a rough day for the young Togrutan exile. So far, she's stopped a crime, escaped being captured, ended up making an accidental blind jump into hyperspace, and ended up in the Mandalore system (if her scanner was right). And now ... she was speeding towards a potentially fiery crash.

As she sailed over the surface, Ahsoka pulled up on the stick and tried to slow the ship down, and flatten out the angle at which she was approaching.

"Grrrrrrr," she groaned as she pulled back as hard as she could.

Seconds later, the ship blamed against the surface, causing a massive bump that forced her to lean forward, and the ship violently began to shake as it scraped across the rocky surface beneath her.

"Come on ol' girl,' Ahsoka prayed. "Don't fall apart on me now".

After what seemed like an eternity, the ship came to a sudden halt. Ahsoka unchecked her safety harness and tried to open the cockpit. It creaked real loudly before it budged. But even then, it barely opened by about two inches.

"Uhhhh!" She sighed before she used the force to push the cockpit up so far, that it was ripped off of the ship. She then threw it away and jumped out of the ship after she grabbed her belongings.

As soon as she jumped out, her ship caught on fire. The heat of the blaze caused her to walk backwards several paces as she looked on in shocked surprise. Literally seconds later, the ship exploded and sent burning debris in every direction.

Ahsoka shook her head in frustration.

"This day can't possibly get any worse," she said to herself.

As if fate heard what she said, she heard something with her Lekku. It was the sounds of several clicking noises. She looked in that direction and ducked just as a storm of laser bolts began to fly over her through the thick smoke behind her ship.

"I stand corrected".

* * *

Captain Scorza was leading the operation personally. His two pet anoobas were with him, along with a couple dozen pirates. They were being covered by several pirate gunships.

"Get moving' ya' lazy scoundrels. Get up there and get that togrutan bitch. We've got a reward to collect," Scorza ordered. His crewmen shouted out a battle cry and continued to move towards the Jedi crash.

* * *

Ahsoka hugged a piece of sheet metal that had come off of her ship in an attempt to shield herself from the pirate gang's onslaught. She constantly flinched away from the metal as laser blasts slammed into the other side.

Suddenly, they ceased fire.

"Search the crash site. Find that brat," Scorza said.

With her head-tails, Ahsoka was able to hear the heavy panting of the anooba wolves and the pirate's footsteps getting closer, their steps vibrating through the soil. She could also hear their voices.

"Come on cheeka." One pirate said using the slang term for a pretty girl.

"We just want to be friends with ya' babe," another said.

" _No thanks sleemos,_ " she said under her breath.

The pirates were getting closer and closer. Ahsoka hugged the metal sheet even harder. One pirate peaked over her cover. It was the last thing he would ever do, before Ahsoka lifted him up with the force and pulled the screaming pirate over her cover and slam him into the ground. Then she used her other hand to pull her knife out of her boot before she plunged it into the struggling pirate's neck.

She pulled the bloody knife out of her victim, turned around and shot over her cover to face her adversaries.

"They've got Jiro!" One distraught pirate shouted. "Get her!"

Every pirate opened fire on her position. But she was too quick. Every shot hit the space that she occupied milli-seconds earlier. But they weren't hitting her. She zigged and zagged, throwing off the aim of each pirate.

"Don't kill 'er. Dooku wants 'er alive. And then we can have fun with her 'til then," Scorza shouted out.

His gang members laughed as they moved to subdue her with melee weapons and stun batons. One pirate even had a gun that could fire an energy net, designed for capturing live prey.

That's when Ahsoka's predatory instincts kicked in.

The hunt was on.

She force pushed one pirate into another, forcing them to the ground. Another pirate tried to use his rifle as a club. But Ahsoka merely leaned backwards and slid forward on her knees underneath the pirate's swinging rifle. When she was done sliding, she turned towards the flabbergasted pirate and pounced at him. She grabbed a hold of his rifle and swung around him with it before she grabbed it out of his hands. She then jumped behind him and used the rifle's butt stock to hit the back of his knee. He shouted out in pain when he was forced to his knees. He looked up just in time to see Ahsoka bring the butt stock down hard on his face. A loud cracking sound could be heard before blood began to rush down out of his nostrils.

The other pirates rushed in with their lead pipes and stun sticks.

Ahsoka jumped up in mid air and leaned back to kick both of her feet into a charging pirate's face. When she was back on the ground, she began to jump around and cartwheel between her adversaries. She then charged at another pirate and jumped into the air to spin around and deliver a round house to his neck, crushing his jugular and cutting off the flow of blood to his brain. Three more pirates tried to surround her and punch her all at the same time. But she jumped up in the air until she was level with their necks before she spun in a circular motion and kicked them all to the ground. One thug with a cattle prod tried to swing at her. But she jumped back every time the thug made a swing at her. When she backed up into another thug, he threw his arms around her. She struggled to get out of the laughing pirate's grasp. When it seemed like she was at their mercy, she swiftly kicked one of her legs back into her captor's midsection. He yelled out and let her go, and Ahsoka jumped out of the way of the other one with the stun stick. Because of this sudden motion, the pirate didn't have time to change direction and was forced to jab the moaning pirate with his cattle prod, sending a coarse of electricity through the screaming pirate's body.

"Enougha this!" Scorza said before he fired a grenade launcher into the mix. Ahsoka saw it and cartwheeled out of the way before the pair of rocket propelled grenades detonated in the middle of the group of pirates that she was fighting, killing all of them. Even his failure of a first mate, Trax.

That's when his dogs started to chase after her. She turned around and used her force powers to launch both of them away. They were sent flying until they were flown over Scorza's head and out of view. He watched as his two pets, who've been at his side since they were cubs, sailed into the air until they were out of view. A single tear trailed down his cheek before he became consumed with rage.

"Grrrrr. Kark the bounty. Grab that tailhead!" Scorza ordered.

He and his remaining pirates opened fire on Ahsoka. She took cover behind a pile of boulders. But Scorza saw where she was taking cover and brought two of his men with him. They marched over and climbed over the boulders to see Ahsoka trying to make a run for it, thinking that maybe it was time to make a quick getaway.

Scorza sighted up with his pistol and waited until the crosshairs hovered over the Togrutan's back. He fired, sending several blue rings of charged particles at her. She zigzagged to avoid them and dodged several of them. But one of them hit her, overloading her nervous system. She screamed as her biosigns went wild for a second until she went limp. She was still conscious, as she was hit with a low level stun. But she felt limp and sore.

Ahsoka could move but she was slowed to a literal crawl.

"Nnggh! Mmggh! Er!" She grunted as she tried to crawl away.

Apperantly, her falling down had caused her to drop her knife, which skipped several feet away. She crawled up to it and reached out to it. But when her fingers barely brushed against it, an energy whip crackled and whipped the spot where her knife rested. Energy splashed on the ground around it. Some of it even got on Ahsoka's hand. She yanked her hand back.

"Gah!" She exclaimed in pain before she held her hand.

"You're not gettin' away from us that easily dear," Scorza said. "Cuff 'er".

His lackeys chuckled and one of them bent down to put binders on her wrists. She struggled and tried to pull her wrists apart, but instead it only sent a wave of electricity through her. "AHHHH!"

"HAHAHAHA! Go ahead and struggle and scream all ya' like love." Scorza said as he waved his dagger in front of Ahsoka's face. 'Cause you'll be doing plenty of it tonight," Scorza said suggestively before he used his knife to tup on her collar and look down it at her two orange perks. "Oh, you'll make a nice trophy for me".

His men laughed.

Ahsoka scowled at him and then spat in his face. He flinched and rubbed her spittle out of his eyes.

"Bite me sleemo!" She cursed.

He chuckled and kneeled next to her. "Oh, hoo hoo hoooo. I'm gonna enjoy this," he said before he went to take her clothes off.

But before he could think of enjoying himself, a loud boom rumbled across the landscape.

 _"Captain! Can ya' 'ear me?_ " Someone shouted over the comm.

Scorza answered it. "What's going' on boy?" He asked.

 _"Sir! We're in troubl- GAAAHHH!-ffffzzzzzzzz,"_ He screamed before the transmission cut out.

Captain Scorza, his lackeys, and Ahsoka looked off in the distance to see his ship being swarmed by multiple tiny objects. Then he looked into his micro-binoculars to see that his ship was being swarmed by Mandalorian Super-commandoes. His ship's cannons fired back, but the Mandalorians represented too small of targets for the cannons to be effective. The flying Mandos fired back with the jetpack rockets, causing small explosions to start blossoming all over his ship, which started trailing smoke. All around, Mandalorian starcraft began to swarm around his ship. His fighters and drop-ships flew out to meet them in battle, and soon, dogfights were raging outside of the ship and over the surrounding landscape.

"GRRRRR! Come on. We've gotta get back to the ship," Scorza ordered before he started walking towards the ship. "And bring the girl".

One pirate spoke into his earpiece to call in a friendly gunship, while another one went to start dragging Ahsoka. But she struggled. The pirate eventually got tired of her struggling and hit her on the back of the head his rifle stock, knocking her out cold.

As she began to slip into unconsciousness, the battle between Scorza's gang and the Nite Owls had begun.

* * *

Above Concordia's surface, Nite Owl and Pirate forces continued to do battle.

 _Fang_ fighters and _Flarestar_ -class attack shuttles swarmed around the large pirate ship, the _Marauder_. The ship's heavy cannons fired at the Mandalorians that were swarming. Thick puffs of red and black smoke exploded in the air, blasting several Nite Owl soldiers out of the sky. A flight of Kom'rk class Mandalorian shuttles tried to get in close and board the ship, but the fire was too heavy. One shuttle had one of its wings clipped, causing it to spin out of control.

 _"Ma'am, that's the third transport we've lost trying to board that thing_ ," one of her pilots said over the comm.

Bo-katan Kryze watched as the damaged shuttle careened into the surface below, causing a large explosion that sent hundreds of little ship pieces in every direction.

"UUhhh," She groaned out before she spoke into her wrist-comm. "All units, forget trying to board that ship. Target the engines. Blast this hunk of junk out of our sky and send them crashing into a fiery grave".

On her order, Mandalorian super-commandoes and attack shuttles focused all of their efforts on the ship's engine section. They swooped in and began to fire on the six large thrusters on the aft section of the ship. Heavy blaster fire and large volleys of missiles streaked towards the large engines. When they hit, the engines were dotted with blossoms of fire. Pieces of metal were blown from the engines, which began to belch smoke. It's engines exploded and the ship began to lose altitude.

Her warriors cheered.

"HAHAHAHA, Yes!"

"Take that pirate scum!"

As their burning mother ship lost altitude, the remaining fighters and shuttles began to scatter in all directions.

"That's right you cowards! Run!"

Kryze smiled before she turned to her warriors. She then spoke into her wrist comm. "Alright, excellent work everyone. Now mop up the survivors and prepare to scavenge the wreck. I want to know why they're here". She watched from the open crew bay to see the Nite owls flying all over the place, hunting down the retreating pirates.

Pirate ships were shot down and escape pods began to jettison from the doomed mother ship.

* * *

Back on the ground, Captain Scorza and his present lackeys watched in horror as the ship ... his ship ... sunk to the surface. When it hit the ground, a sickening creaking sound could be heard as it broke in two. Then the burning, dismembered ship exploded. The shockwave vibrated through the ground for miles in every direction. Since it was dawn, the glowing fire could be seen for miles.

People were able to use the distant fire to read in the dark.

Scorza was fuming on the inside. His merry band of misfits and scoundrels were now reduced to scorched bodies and smoking ruins, and what remained of his little pirate fleet was scattering to the winds. He had to rebuild from almost nothing. He wanted to kill someone. But then he decided that he could just take all of his frustrations out on his new Togrutan play-thing, who was still out cold and being dragged by one of his lackeys.

He then reached for his comm-link to speak into it.

"This is Captain Scorza. Someone get us the hell out a' 'ere," he said calmly.

 _"Aye Captain. I'm on my way,"_ one of his remaining pilots replied.

They waited for a few minutes before they saw a flying saucer appear out of a massive wall of smoke. It was about to come in for a landing when it suddenly exploded.

"Dammit!" Scorza shouted as he saw a Mandalorian attack shuttle come out of the same wall of smoke their ship just came out of. "Destroy that annoying bugger and call in another shuttle".

Scorza and his men took aim and began to fire on the shuttle with everything they had. Even the pirate carrying Ahsoka aimed his weapon at the shuttle after he put her down. The shuttle's crew bay was open. They saw several Nite Owl warriors opening fire from it. One of them was manning a repeating blaster turret, which gunned down several of his men. Two of his men loaded up a pair of rocket launchers and took aim. Smoke shot out from the backs of the rocket launchers before their ordnance was sent streaking towards the enemy shuttle. They exploded against the hull, knocking out the engines.

The shuttle whined as it lost altitude and crashed into the surface. The outnumbered Nite Owls used their rocket packs to fly out of the crew bay. They began to circle Scorza and his remaining pirates before they began to attack. They fired at each other. Most of the Nite owls were shot out of the sky, as well as all except for three of the pirates.

When the remaining Mandalorians were driven back, they circled back to try and get some help and launch another attack on Scorza and his two remaining men.

But someone else was going to beat them too it.

Ahsoka began to regain consciousness. She blinked until her blurry vision refocused. When it did, she could see Scorza and his two remaining subordinates standing there. One of them was trying to call in another ship for help. That would mean that Ahsoka would be taken away with them.

" _Not gonna happen sleemo_ ," Ahsoka said under her breath, using her new nickname for Scorza, as she reached out with the force. A pistol on Scorza's belt gently moved as it responded to Ahsoka's power. It eventually flew out off of his belt and into her hands. She didn't have much experience with blasters. But now wasn't the time to be picky. She took aim and waited until Scorza was in her sights. When they were, she pulled the trigger, jerking the gun back and making her shot go wide a little but. But she hit Scorza, nonetheless.

He shouted in pain and leaned forward from the force of the blast. The other two pirates turned around to attack her. But she managed to squeeze off a few more rounds, sending them their way, and by some miracle managed to gun down both of them.

Scorza turned around to see his slave suddenly become the master.

But he laughed at the stern looking Togrutan, who continued to aim the blaster at him.

"You won't do it. Ain't mercy and compassion the Jedi way?" he asked with a mocking smirk sprawled across his face.

Ahsoka continued to aim down the sights with her stern look.

"I'm no Jedi," she said.

And for the first, and last, time in his life, Scorza felt true terror overtake him, before Ahsoka sent a blaster bolt through his skull. A fresh hole was drilled into his head from the laser bolt that was fired from Ahsoka's smoking gun. His lifeless body slumped over, and flattened against the rocky ground.

She exhaled loudly and leaned against a rock before she set the blaster down. That's when she saw the wall of smoke clear, and she could see what was happening in the world around her. Nite Owl warriors were mopping up the last of the pirates. Fang fighters roared over her, returning from their hunt of the remaining pirate ships. In the distance, Nite Owl super-commandoes were checking the freighter's burning wreckage and the downed escape pods, taking any survivors as prisoners.

Ahsoka smiled as she enjoyed the view. But then she realized that her wrists were still bound by the Jedi proof binders.

She frowned.

Then she heard the sound of several rocket packs heading her way, causing her to tense up and brush her hands against the blaster. That's when she saw several Nite Owl warriors descend all around her. The six warriors surrounded her in a semi-circle. Seconds later, a familiar figure landed between Ahsoka and the warriors.

The Nite Owl warrior took her helmet off to reveal the dumbstruck face of a red-headed woman.

Ahsoka lowered her blaster and looked on with an equally dumbstruck face.

"You. Have got. To be kidding me." Ahsoka said.

"Hey kid. It's been a while," Bo-Katan said.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Royal Palace, Sun'dari, Mandalore_.

In a throne room overlooking the once bustling ornate streets of Sun'dari, the most evil Zabrak in the galaxy was sitting on a throne that he usurped when he claimed this planet as his own.

Darth Maul was surrounded by his Military advisors and his political puppets. Before he and his late brother, Savage Oppress, gathered an army of criminals, militants, and slavers, all of these people that surrounded him were outcasts and wanted men (and women). Now, they were in positions of power thanks to their lord and master.

Ever since his take over, Darth Maul has been biding his time, waiting for the right moment to exact his revenge on all of those that wronged him, underestimated him, or stood in his way.

"Prime Minister Almec. What news did you bring me. I want to know what his happening amongst my ... faithful subjects," Maul said.

Amlec bowed before he gave his report. "The people are following your new laws as promised. The curfew is being enforced, and all dissidents are being taken into custody as per your order my lord," he said.

"Very good," Maul said before he turned to a hologram of his top Commanders, a blond haired man named Gar Saxon, and a brunette woman named Rook Kast. "And what about the security of the system?"

Saxon bowed.

"My lord, the Fleet has the planet completely locked down. The resistance has been completely cut off from space and can no longer receive any funding or equipment. But our spies on Concordia are reporting fighting on the surface," Saxon said.

This peaked Maul's interests. "Oh? And what is the nature of this reported battle?"

It seems that an armed freighter was shot down over the planet. But e don't know why." Kast said before she bowed. "But with your permission, I would like to take a squadron to scout the area".

"Go. Find out what is happening and report back to me when you're done," Maul ordered.

Kast bowed, put her helmet on, and began to walk out of the throne room.

Maul stroked his chin while in deep thought.

"Is something wrong my lord?" Saxon asked.

"I want to make sure that our plans go unhindered. I want you to increase our patrols and tighten security in our underground facilities until further notice. And I want a battle group ready to sortie out to Concordia when I give the order," Maul ordered.

Saxon nodded and walked away to carry out his master's orders.

Maul sat back in his throne, deep in thought.

 _'Soon, my vengeance will be complete.'_

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Holding cell, Nite Owl camp, Concordia_.

Deep within the Nite Owl's main camp, Ahsoka sat in her own personal cell. It had a single cot and it had a bucket, a mirror, and a foucet, which didn't have a sink under it. She was allowed to keep her belongings, except her holo-device or her knife, and decided to change into her bodysuit and yoga pants, both of which hugged her curves very nicely. But when she changed, her hands were tied up. So with no way out and nothing better to do, she meditated.

Although, she'd be lying to herself if she said that she wasn't nervous. She knew she was being held because of what her and Lux did to the Death Watch back on Carlac. She killed six or seven of their men witnessed the camp's destruction. It was a regular old romantic trip with Lux.

All joking aside, she was in a serious situation.

Outside, Mandalorians patrolled the perimeter of her cell, making sure that she wasn't getting any wise ideas. The camp had guard towers and a fence outlining the perimeter. Within the base grounds were dozens of tents and a few metal structures outfitted with gun batteries, and communications/sensor relays. The Nite Owls kept their spacecraft hidden nearby. And not only was she their prisoner, she was also in the middle of a potential war-zone. Because this system was under different management. One that took the form of a horned demon with red and black skin, as well as a blood thirsty temper.

But nonetheless, she sat patiently, waiting for something to happen.

And it eventually did.

The flap to her tent opened up. Ahsoka stood up in anticipation for what was about to happen. Two Nite Owl warriors stepped underneath the flap and stood on either side of the entrance with their hands clasped behind their backs. A few seconds later, Bo-Katan Kryze stepped underneath the flap and stood between the two warriors. Her helmet was off, allowing her to look Ahsoka in the eye.

For several long seconds, they just looked at each other.

"Ahsoka Tano. Hm, the last time I saw you, you and your 'betrothed' had burned down our camp and caused the deaths of several Mandaalorians warriors. And now ... you've managed to lead a group of slavers and outlaws into our backyard and disrupt our operations," Bo-Katan said casually, giving Ahsoka a blank look that she couldn't read. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Ahsoka just stood there with her mouth agape. She didn't say anything.

"Uhhhhhm, I didn't intend to lead those pirates here. But I don't regret what I did on Carlac. You were, and probably are, terrorists that burned down an innocent village. You also tried to kill me. So no matter what happens, I don't regret a thing I did ... So do. Your. Worst," Ahsoka said, accepting whatever punishment awaited her.

Bo-katan still wore her blank stare. But then she reached behind her and pulled a holster off of her belt. It was a holstered knife. When Bo-Katan pulled the knife out, Ahsoka saw that it was her cortosis blade.

She stared in silent horror. Her heart pounded in her ribcage, and rapid thumps began to thunder in her head. Kryze studied the blade. "Hm. This is an impressive blade. Cortosis coated. It can deactivate a lightsaber, right? Perfect for dealing with force-users".

 _'Great I'm about to be killed with my own knife. The irony'_.

Bo-Katan raised her fist and prepared to plunge the knife downward into Ahsoka. Images of her entire life, from her time in the order, fighting in the war, her friends, comrades, family, and lover, began to flash before her very eyes.

 _'Well, goodbye world. It was fun while it lasted'_.

But that's when Bo-Katan swiped the knife through between Ahsoka's wrists, cutting the ropes that restrained her hands.

Ahsoka stared at her wrists in disbelief. Then she looked up at Bo-Katan, who slid the knife back into the sheath.

"Consider yourself on parole," Bo said before she tossed the sheath up in the air. Ahsoka caught it with her trembling hands and nearly dropped it. "Now follow me".

Bo walked out of the tent with her two warriors. But when she realized that Ahsoka wasn't following, she turned back and reentered the tent. "Hey, Tano. You comin' or what?" She asked. Ahsoka was dumbstruck. But she soon began to get her body moving and follow Maul. She followed Bo and her warriors through the camp until they came up on a massive tent in the middle of the camp.

"Uhhhh, not that I'm complaining or anything, but ... why didn't you just kill me?" Ahsoka asked.

"Because, you're a lot more valuable to me alive than dead," Bo said as he walked into the tent, which was the location of the Nite Owl's command center. It was filled with different stations that the warriors manned. There was a holo-table in the center. They stopped in front of it.

"But why?" Ahsoka asked.

Bo turned and nodded to one of her warriors. He nodded and punched in a few keys on the holo-table. Seconds later, a hologram of Darth Maul materialized onto the table.

"I'm sure you're aware of Darth Maul," Bo said.

Ahsoka looked at the hologram of the demonic looking zabrak.

"I thought he went missing," Ahsoka said. **(A/N: keep in mind that since Ahsoka left the order before Maul was broken out of Dooku's prison, she wouldn't know about that)**

"We thought so to. But he was apparently captured by Dooku's cronies, who also killed his brother. But then he was broken out by the Shadow Collective, on the orders of his puppet on Mandalore, Prime Minister Almec," she said before a hologram of Almec appeared next to Maul's hologram. "Then, they rallied what was left of Maul's criminal allies, and they started a small war with the Separatists and the Republic. But he lost it. Now, we have reports that suggest that he's returned to Mandalore to consolidate his power." Bo said. "We've been co-ordinating with the resistance for months, and we've been gathering support from Mandalore's colonies. We're planning an assault on Sun'dari that'll coincide with the resistance's planned uprisings".

"Okay, but how do I factor into all of this?" Ahsoka asked.

"We could use all the help that we can get to reclaim Mandalore. So I want you to call your Jedi friends, and get them to send the Clone Army, and the Jedi best suited for the job," Bo said.

Ahsoka was caught off guard.

"Uhm, okay, uh wow, uhhhhh," Ahsoka stuttered. "Look, even if I do agree to help you and call the Council, they're in the middle of fighting a very bloody campaign to besiege the Separatists and repel their latest offensive. What makes you think that they'll help?" She asked.

"Because of these," Bo said, pointing to the holo-table.

The Nite Owl warrior controlling the images pressed a few keys. The images of Maul and Almec were replaced with two devices. They looked like large power generators that each had a control panel and several mechanisms and antennas on them.

Ahsoka looked at them with confusion.

"What am I looking at?" Ahsoka asked.

"These are fusion bombs. Powerful enough to wipe out a planet's surface. According to our intel, Maul is focusing all of his resources on building three of them. One for Coruscant, one for Raxus, and one for Nal Hutta. By wiping out the capitals of the three major galactic powers, Maul is hoping to create a state of mass chaos. One where he hopes that he will be put in charge," Bo said. "And if you help us, then I'll consider the damage that you and your boyfriend did to our cause paid for. Do we have a deal?"

Ahsoka looked at the two devices in horror, before she began to contemplate the situation she had _literally_ landed in. That's when an alarm started to go of across the base. Everyone tensed up in response.

"Report!" Bo shouted.

"Ma'am, proximity sensors are picking up several Shadow Collective fighters entering our airspace," a Nite Owl shouted out from his post.

"Activate the Anti-Aircraft guns and scramble our fighters," Bo-Katan ordered.

She pressed a few keys on the holo-table. They showed her an image of the three fighters that were entering their airspace. Suddenly, puffs of thick black smoke that glowed red began to dot the space around the Shadow Collective fighters. One fighter was hit in the port-side engine, which connected the wing to the main body of the ship. It was on fire and trailing smoke. That's when a secondary explosion went off, blowing off the wing and causing the fighter to spin out of control. That's when the two remaining fighters began to circle back and retreat from Nite Owl territory. But before they did, a flight of Nite Owl fighters flew up to pursue the remaining fighters. One of the Shadow Collective fighters circled back to engage the Night Owls. It fired, causing one of Bo-Katan's fighter to disintegrate. The two remaining fighters fired back, destroying the suicide fighter. They banked hard to the left and right, trying to avoid the explosion. But because of this, the last Shadow Collective fighter was able to put some distance between itself and the Nite Owls. It disappeared into the atmosphere, off to report its findings to its master.

The all-clear siren went off. But no one was fooled. That fighter was just the first of many.

A warrior ran up to Kryze. "Ma'am, the enemy fighters have been driven off".

Bo-Katan leaned against the holo table and sighed.

"If they didn't know that we were here before, then they do now. Keep the base on high alert. Activate the long-range scanners and send out patrols to sweep the system for incoming hostiles," Bo-Katan ordered.

The warrior saluted and rushed off in a different direction.

"Maul will be here soon. And he won't hold back. He'll be sending everything he's got to wipe us out. Do you see now Tano, how desperate our situation is? This operation relied on the element of surprise and speed. We've already lost one of those, and I need you to keep us from the losing the other one. So ... can you help us, or not?" Bo-Katan asked.

Ahsoka folded her arms and used one to place her fingers against her forehead. She was in deep thought. Ahsoka has been trying to flee danger since she left the order, and so far she was 'O for 2' when it came to getting away from the War. But deep down, she felt this need to help others. Even though she was no longer a Jedi or an officer in the Grand Army, she still felt like she had a responsibility to do what ... deep down ... she believed to be right.

She couldn't just walk away from this. Not with the safety of the Galaxy on the line. If not for the Republic's sake, then for her friends and loved ones.

Ahsoka took in a deep breath, her breasts heaving with contemplation, before she let out a long sigh.

"I'll make the call".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **That's part 12 folks. I'll be working on part very 13 soon.**

 **Feel free to leave your thoughts down in the review section if you wish.**


	13. Chapter 13-Homefront

**Have no fear, Grubkiller is here.**

 **Hey folks. This is part 13 of my story, Fall of the Republic.**

 **It'll be about the start of the Battle of Coruscant, and it'll show Ahsoka and the Nite Owls holding off Maul's cronies until reinforcements arrive.**

 **This is gonna be freakin' good.**

 **Hope ya'll enjoy.**

 _ **P.S : Oh and by the way, I added a couple of scenes from season 5's episode 18 and 19 to my wrong Jedi chapter. Go check 'em out when you have the chance. ****Remember, the first three chapters of this story are made of Clone Wars scenes that foreshadow the Fall of the Republic.**_

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

" _Enemy forces continue to spill out of hyperspace. Our forces are holding, but... they need help_ "-Jedi Master Saesee Tiin to Master Mace Windu minutes after CIS forces invade Coruscant.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Bridge of the RSV Indomitable, near a Republic staging Area, outside of Belderone's ruined capital city_.

Back on the planet Belderone, which was currently contested by both sides, the Clone forces under the direct command of Jedi knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker were being loaded back onto the Republic warships in the skies above.

For months, the two Jedi and many of their comrades have been trying to take the system and capture the Separatist leaders. For that first task, they were half victorious. But for the other half ... don't ask.

Clone troopers and tanks were moving in every direction, ready to be transported off world to other fronts.

Obi-Wan and Anakin watched from the bridge of the _Indomitable,_ as their troops packed up their gear and marched into several ships like their own.

But Obi-Wan was busy looking at the sky. For the first time in several weeks, he wasn't sloshing around in mud or sleeping in a water-logged trench. _'Where was this descent weather when we were fighting the Confederacy?'_ He asked himself.

"Typical. The weather clears as soon as we're leaving," He said to his former apprentice.

Anakin agreed. But before he could respond, a new voice called out to them.

"General!" Admiral Yularen called out from the command center at the back of the bridge. The two Jedi looked at him when he got their attention. "Urgent message from Coruscant".

Both Jedi looked at each other. They shared a look of surprise before they went off to see what it was all about.

* * *

Anakin and Obi-Wan stood in front of a holo-table, while meeting with the holographic versions of Master Windu and Chancellor Palpatine.

"Master's, the situation on Belderone is stable. But the system remains contested. Master Monn is staying to hold the line with his forces, while Master Secura is moving her forces to Felucia," Obi-Wan informed.

" _Excellent._ _We are most pleased with your performance,"_ Palpatine said, praising Obi-Wan and Anakin's recent achievements in the Outer Rim territories. _"With your command of the Third Army, I am sure that we are well on our way to achieving victory in this war"_.

" _But for every system that is liberated, it seems another is taken, prolonging this conflict,_ " Windu said. " _We must stop this war at its source"_.

"Grievous," Anakin deduced, his face growing more stern as he thought about the cyborg warlord, that murdered many of his fellow Jedi comrades. Obi-Wan noticed this. But he was worried that his former apprentice was too eager to meet Grievous face to face.

The Jedi continued the debriefing.

" _We had questionable intel on this ... at best,_ " Master Windu said.

" _On the contrary,_ " Palpatine said, pointing at himself with his thumb. " _My intelligence assures me that my information is quite accurate."_ When the chancellor was done patting himself on the back, he continued. " _Separatist Naval forces have been spotted on a number of occasions traveling to Abregado-Rae. If my intelligence is correct, then General Grievous must be with them"_.

" _I do believe that Grievous is the key to ending this conflict,_ " Windu said.

Anakin and Obi-Wan looked at each other.

" _One can only hope,_ " Palpatine said. " _You are to leave immediately"_

 _"May the Force be with you,"_ Mace said before both holograms disappeared, leaving both Jedi to themselves.

Obi-Wan stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Sending us on a reconnaissance mission. This doesn't feel right."

Anakin placed a reassuring hand on his former master's shoulder. "Don't look at it that way, master," Anakin said. "Think of it as..." he said before he punched his palm, "...reconnaissance in force".

Obi-Wan smiled. "Your favorite," he said, causing both of the old friends to chuckle.

That's when Anakin's com-link stared chiming. He looked at it in confusion before answering it. "Skywalker here," he said.

 _"General. We're receiving a transmission. You're going to want to come down here and take this call."_ Said the voice of Captain Rex.

Anakin and Obi-Wan looked at each other. "We'll be right there Rex," he said before shutting the com-link down. He then looked back at Obi-Wan. "What do you think this is all about?" He asked.

"Well, only one way to find out," he said before they went off to see what the captain needed to see them for

* * *

 _RSV Indomitable, Communications room_.

Obi-Wan and Anakin walked through the halls of the Star-Destroyer, RSV Indomitable, passing through many clone troopers and droids that were walking back and forth, trying to get to their destinations.

The two Jedi Knights eventually came up on the communications room. They walked through, and saw several clone officers, crewmen, and astromech droids working on something or talking to each other, amidst the sounds of comm chatter from multiple military frequencies.

The door to another room in the back of the comm center opened up with a _hsssss_. Captain Rex was inside, standing at attention in the parade rest position.

"Alright Rex," Anakin said as he and Obi-Wan walked over to Rex, "...what's so important that you brought us all the way back here?"

That's when a blue light illuminated the dark room, and the Jedi's faces. Anakin, and his master, was taken aback when he saw two figures on the holo-table.

One was a petite woman in full Mandalorian armor, which was painted blue and hugged her frame incredibly well.

The Togrutan girl wore a sleeveless bodysuit, which was dark gray with tan colored accents, and black yoga pants. Both of which hugged her beautiful, curvaceous body in all of the right places. Her top's zipper went from the top of her neck and all the way down below her bikini line. She also wore a skirt that covered her posterior. She also had fingerless gloves and arm braces that were like her old ones, but dark gray with tan accents.

Rex still didn't say anything as he allowed his superiors to take in what they were seeing.

They both had their backs facing Anakin. But then the togrutan girl looked over her shoulder. When she saw who was behind her, she turned around to face the two Jedi knights, and crossed her arms.

It was Ahsoka Tano. The girl that they kicked out of the order for a crime that she did not commit.

"Hello master..." she said, "...it's been a while.

* * *

After a few minutes of getting the pleasantries out of the way, the meeting began.

" _It's good to see guys again. Although, I wish that it were under better circumstances,_ " she said.

Obi-Wan stroked his beard thoughtfully. " _Hm. Am I to assume that the circumstances aren't good?_ " He asked.

 _"No master. I'm currently on Concordia with the Mandalorian Nite Owls. They are planning an attack to oust Darth Maul from power,"_ she said.

Again, everyone was shocked.

"Wait," Anakin said. "You're with the Nite Owls? How did you get mixed up with them?" Anakin asked, visibly concerned.

 _"It's a long ... painfully long ... story. But I can tell you this: The Nite Owls need the Republic's help if they're going to overthrow Maul,"_ Ahsoka said.

Obi-Wan and Anakin looked at each other. They both looked back at Ahsoka and Kryze before Anakin spoke.

"Ahsoka, I understand that the people of Mandalore deserve to be liberated. We all want to see Maul brought to justice, especially Obi-Wan," Anakin said on his former master's behalf, "...But we're in the middle of a war. And we are about to go on a mission that the Council just gave us. Why does Maul need to be dealt with now?" Obi-Wan asked.

Before Ahsoka could answer, Kryze stepped forward.

" _Because, he's building, and plans to use, Weapons of Mass Destruction on all of his enemies. That includes The Republic, the Separatists, and the Hutts. He's hoping to create chaos and take over as ruler of the galaxy. He's more insane than anything, but if you ask me, he can't remain in power any longer. This isn't just a Mandalorian issue. It's in everyone's best interests that Maul be permanently removed from power. The Republic cannot afford to ignore this problem any longer,"_ Kryze said.

Ahsoka nodded in agreement.

"We'll contact the council and see what they believe," Obi-Wan said.

Ahsoka bowed her head. _"Thank you masters," she said._

 _"Don't take too long,"_ Kryze said.

Their holograms disappeared, leaving Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Rex to digest what they just swallowed.

Obi-Wan looked at Anakin and Rex.

"Let's go tell the Council."

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Concordia, Mandalore system_.

When the meeting was over, Ahsoka stepped outside of the tent to speak to Bo-Katan and her lieutenants. They'd been outside for the duration of her transmission. Some of them were visibly anxious with anticipation. They wanted to hear good news.

"Well?" Bo-Katan asked.

"Alright Kryze, I got your reinforcements," Ahsoka said.

A few Nite Owls breathed a sigh of relief. It was he first set of good news that they've gotten in months.

Bo-Katan walked up and patted Ahsoka on the back. "Nice job Tano. you can consider your debt to us paid for," she said, referring to her and Lux's run in with the Death Watch on Carlac. Ahsoka rolled her eyes a little when no one was looking. "We can also have a ship available for you if you want,"she said.

"Thanks. But if it's all the same to you, I think that I'll stay," Ahsoka said.

"Why? This isn't your fight. I only wanted you to call the Republic for help," Bo-Katan asked.

"Well ... I suppose you can say it's complicated," Ahsoka said.

Bo-katan shrugged her shoulders. "Fair enough".

 _'WHOOOP! WHOOOP! WHOOOP! WHOOOP!_ '

The sound of the base's alarm caused everyone to tense up.

 _"Alert, Alert. Enemy forces are incoming. I repeat, enemy forces are incoming. All personnel report to your stations! This is not a drill!_ " Someone shouted over the base's PA system.

Bo and Ahsoka shared a look with each other.

"Come on!" Bo exclaimed before she, Ahsoka, and her officers ran outside of the tent.

They looked up to see several Fang star-fighters swoop down and fired on the base below. They strafed the ground, the laser blasts tearing apart several tents, and blasting several buildings apart. At least a dozen warriors were shot down during the strafing run, while trying to rush towards their battle stations. Fires raged all across the camp, belching columns of smoke that towered over the camp.

Bo-Katan used her rocket pack to jet up onto the top of the command tower. Ahsoka used the force to jump up with her.

"Report!" Kryze ordered.

"Ma'am, Shadow Collective cruisers and freighters are in orbit above us. They'll be in our airspace with fighters and bombers very soon," one warrior called out.

"Ma'am!" Someone else called out. "Those Fang fighters are coming in for another attack!"

"Call in _our_ fighters and tell them to engage!" she ordered.

Despite the columns of smoke that clouded her vision, Ahsoka could see the fighter's silhouettes through the smoke.

"Brace for Impact!" Ahsoka heard someone call out.

She grabbed onto the railing and prepared for the worst.

The shadow collective fighters swooped down and began firing again. But before they could land any decent hits on the camp, they were shot at from behind. They exploded and spun out of control. Then she saw several Nite Owl fighters streak across the camp in the direction that Maul's fighters were crashing in. One of them tipped their wing to acknowledge the troops on the ground. Those who noticed raised their fists up in the air and cheered.

"We took them out. But that won't be the last of them. Get to your positions and prepare for another assault." She then turned to the comms tech. "And call the other camps. Let them know that we've been hit by Maul's forces, and that more are most likely on the way!" Kryze ordered.

The communications technician nodded. "Yes Ma'am".

As everyone scrambled to their positions, Bo-Katan turned to Ahsoka.

"Looks like we have to weather the storm before your Republic shows up," Kryze deduced.

Ahsoka nodded. "It sure looks that way. But my masters'll be here before you know it. You'll see," she said.

"Well, whatever happens, we probably could use your help," Bo said as she waved one of her men over. He was carrying a crate full of DC-15 blasters, that were on loan from the Republic. Kryze pulled one out of the crate and presented it to Ahsoka, who looked at it with a mixture of interest and confusion.

She realized that Kryze must've be real desperate if she's calling the Jedi for help. Even more so since she's presenting a weapon to one.

"You know how to handle one right?" Bo asked.

"Mmmmm..." Ahsoka groaned as she waved her hand in the so-so gesture.

"That's good enough," Bo said before she put it in Ahsoka's arms. "Just be sure to give it back when you're done ... and be careful where you point it," Kryze said as she lifted the barrel so that Ahsoka was pointing it away from people.

Ahsoka looked at the weapon in her hands and then at Kryze before she nodded.

"Alright. Now come on. We've gotta hold down the fort before the Republic arrives," Bo said before she led them down towards the trenches at the edge of the base.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Jedi Temple communication center, Coruscant_.

"You want to what?" Mace Windu asked, surprised.

He, along with several members of the Jedi council and Chancellor Palpatine, was talking to holograms of Anakin ad Obi-Wan, who had just requested to deviate towards Mandalore.

 _"Master, we just received a message from Ahsoka, on Concordia. She has intel pointing to whereabouts of Darth Maul. We have to go help her.,"_ Anakin said.

Again, everyone was shocked.

"Master Kenobi, I understand that the people of Mandalore deserve to be liberated. But why does Maul need to be dealt with right now?" Palpatine asked.

"T _he Nite Owls claim that he is building weapons that he plans to use on all of his enemies, including the Republic,"_ master Kenobi said.

" _Obi-Wan has the most experience with Maul, and our fleet is the closest to Mandalore. We have to do this,_ " Anakin spoke up.

Chancellor Palpatine cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

 _"You have certainly made your case Master Jedi. I_ _believe that you should go to Mandalore, and help overthrow Darth Maul,"_ Palpatine said as he clasped his fingers together.

The Jedi council members looked at each other. They didn't like it when Palpatine got too involved in how the Jedi moved their forces.

"But Chancellor, what about Grievous?" Master Mundi asked.

"We can have somebody else go after Grievous. But right now, Maul represents a clear and present threat to both the Republic, and the galaxy. He must be disarmed and brought to justice.," Palpatine said.

Yoda closed his eyes in deep thought.

"Hmmm. Master Kenobi, to Mandalore you will go. Liberate it from Maul's clutches we must," he said.

Both Jedi bowed their heads before their holograms disappeared.

Unbeknownst to anyone else in the room, Palpatine was smiling, somewhat sinisterly.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Republic Star-Destroyer, RSD Indomitable, Belderone system._

Anakin and Obi-Wan stood on the bridge of their flagship with Admiral Yularen. They watched as their fleet, consisting of 12 Venators and various support ships, gathered above Belderone's moon, pointed in the trajectory of the Mandalore system. Off in the distance, they could see tiny blue and red explosions dotting the black starry void further into the system. That was Master Monn's forces fighting off the Separatists elsewhere. The system was still contested space after all. Another fleet of Republic warships were nearby. But they were pointed in a different direction. That was Master Secura's fleet.

"Master Secura," Obi-Wan said over the comm. "You are cleared for your departure for Felucia".

" _Copy that Master Kenobi. Good luck on Mandalore you two,_ " Aayla Secura said over the comm.

"Hm, in my experience there's no such thing as luck," Obi-Wan said.

" _Then may the force be with you. And say hello to Ahsoka for me,_ " she said.

"Will do," Obi-Wan said.

Moments later, Aayla's fleet shot off into hyperspace and disappeared, their ships leaving behind a blue trail that disappeared seconds later. Admiral Yularen walked off to give the order to make their own jump to Mandalore. Obi-Wan could see Anakin walking away in his peripheral vision.

"I'll be down in the hanger working on my fighter,' Anakin said.

Obi-Wan didn't have to be a Jedi to notice that Anakin was conflicted. Getting a call from his former padawan needing his help worried him. But it also awoke a deep pain that he felt concerning Ahsoka. One that he blamed the Council for. And to a certain extent ... Obi-Wan. It sometimes caused a small rift to open up between them. And he couldn't blame him for it.

" _All hands, prepare for hyperspace jump. 3, 2, 1, jump_ ," a clone officer said over the intercom.

Seconds later, he watched as the engines began to power up in the back of the ship. Then the stars began to stretch out before the ships jumped into the blue tunnel of hyperspace.

Next stop: Mandalore.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Jedi Temple, Coruscant_.

Deep within the great walls of the Jedi Temple, Master Yoda was in his room. The 900 year old Jedi Grand Master was sitting quietly on a circular ottoman, meditating. But suddenly, a great disturbance in the force caused him to open his eyes in shock. That's when he used the force to open up the window shades before e swiftly turned around and looked outside.

What he saw caused him to recoil in surprised shock.

Literally right outside his window, hundreds of Tri-droid and Vulture droid star-fighters were zooming out of the sky like a swarm of angry bees. They were accompanied by multiple C-9979 Transports, which were used to deploy entire battalions of Droid forces.

As Yoda looked outside in stunned silence, he heard the door open with a hiss behind him. He already knew who it was before they'd even spoke.

"The city is under attack!" Mace Windu exclaimed.

Yoda turned around.

"Defend the city we must".

* * *

Amidst the gleaming metal skyscrapers that covered the planet-wide metropolis, hundreds (perhaps thousands) of the 'H'-shaped droid transports were maneuvering through the buildings and landing in the streets below.

When they landed, they deployed their massive droid cargo and unleashed them onto the innocent civilian bystanders.

Ten of thousands of droids began to march through the streets while their vehicles rumbled, hovered, or stomped their way through the crowded streets of Coruscant.

Explosions appeared all over the place as the droids had their way with the place. People ran in every direction, trying to get away from the advancing Droid onslaught. And as they did, one thing was on their minds: How the Hell did the Seps break through like this? On Coruscant of all places.

* * *

Despite what Republic propaganda said about the CIS, downplaying their recent offensives in the outer rim, they were still a very dangerous threat to the Republic. They still had a force that could do battle with the Republic, and their recent offensives put a strain on Republic resources. Particularly when it came to ships. The Republic had to strip their home fleet to stop the CIS. Because of this, the Republic navy was spread thin across the galaxy and unable to react to the invasion properly. The Republic still had all of the hyper lane routes into the system blocked off, and yet the CIS managed t jump right above the planet and unleash millions of droids to the surface.

Another reason was surprise. The Republic still had all of the hyper lane routes into the system blocked off. But when the Confederacy was able to obtain the Nexus Route co-ordinates, they were able to launch a surprise attack on the heart of the Republic. The CIS managed to jump right above the planet and unleash millions of droids onto the surface. The Republic was caught so off guard, that they didn't have many clone troopers deployed to the surface. They were all still in the barracks while the CIS ran amuck.

But the Grand Army was soon scrambling its forces to defend the Capital and drive off the CIS invasion.

Clone Troopers all over the planet geared up and rushed out of their bases to engage the CIS invaders.

As Mace Windu walked through the hanger bay of a base not too far from the Temple, whilst maintaining his stoic look, ARC-170 Star-fighters took off and flew out of the base in order to begin engaging the Separatist fighters.

"Master Windu!" Master Saesee Tiin called out as he ran up next to Windu and began to walk with him. "Enemy forces continue to spill out of hyperspace. Our forces are holding, but ... they need help".

Windu turned to face Tiin.

"Get up their and take command," Windu ordered.

Tiin nodded before he and Windu jumped into their respective interceptors.

"May the force be with you," Windu said.

"And you," Tiin responded.

And with that, both Jedi masters closed their cockpit canopies and lifted off of the ground. That's when they took off out of the hanger and flew up to join the battle up in orbit and in the clouds above.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _In orbit above Concordia, Mandalore system_.

High above the Nite Owl's base camp, Bo-Katan's small fleet of light cruisers and fast-attack frigates were trying to hold off Maul's invasion fleet, which consisted of troop transports protected by warships that were more heavily armed and armored than her own fleet.

Her fighters were desperately trying to hold the enemy forces off as best as they could. Flights of fighters streaked through the formations of enemy warships. When they left the relative safety of the Fleet's firepower, they flew head first into a wall of heavy fire from Maul's fleet. Puffs of red and black smoke appeared all around them. That's when several fighters were hit and forced to spin out of control before exploding in a hail of fire and debris. The reactions of the fighter pilots could be heard on all comm frequencies.

" _This flak is too heavy!"_

 _"We're no gonna make it!"_

 _"I'm Hit! GAAAHH!"-*fffzzzzzzzz*_.

But despite the losses, some fighters managed to push on through. Those that did unleashed a volley of missiles that streaked towards the enemy warships. Several of the smaller ships exploded and flew out of control. Others managed to slam into the sides of the troop transports, gutting them from stem to stern.

The Nite Owl fighters turned back and flew back to the fleet. But soon, the Shadow Collective was on the attack. They pressed their advantage and moved in closer. They fired their heavier weapons at the smaller Nite Owl ships, wiping out a large portion of them after just a few seconds. The larger Nite Owl ships put up a better fight, using their weaponry to target the enemy cannons and critical systems, taking a few of them with them. But even they collapsed under the strain of concentrated fire from Maul's fleet.

" _The fleet's been wiped out. We must warn our allies on the surface,_ " the lead Nite Owl pilot said before he piloted his fighter back towards the surface. His fellow pilots followed him.

* * *

Gar Saxon watched as his enemy's ships burned away before him. They were nothing but skeletal remains. Bodies and debris floated out into space, cold and lifeless. Several of the stricken enemy ships belched smoke and fire from secondary explosions on the hull.

Rook Kast walked up behind him.

"Commander Saxon," she said, getting his attention. "That was the last of the enemy's space forces. What are your orders now?" She asked.

He watched the cold debris field before him with his hands clasped behind his back, contemplating their next move.

"Commence orbital bombardment," he ordered.

Kast nodded her head and turned to the gunnery director on the bridge.

Outside, every cannon in Maul's fleet slowly turned and angled down until they were pointed in the general direction of Bo-Katan's camp. Seconds later, the tips of every barrel in the fleet exploded, hurling yellow plasma down at the surface.

The Nite Owls were about to have a very bad day.

* * *

"Come on! Come on, move it!" Bo-Katan shouted. "Get into the trenches! And lower the gun towers into the ground!"

"You can lower the guns into the ground?" Ahsoka asked as she jumped into the same trench with Bo-Katan and several other warriors.

"Just in the main camp. This is an old military base. The towers were built into the surface to be kept safe from bombardment," she explained she looked up. "And it looks like we're about to see if that concept'll pay of or not".

Ahsoka looked up.

So did some of the other warriors.

The night sky began to glow yellow. It was very majestic looking. Suddenly, yellow streaks of light slammed into the surface. Explosions blossomed everywhere. Buildings were blasted open, and tents were ripped to burning shreds. Those who didn't make it into a shelter, either flew off with their rocket packs, or they flew up into the air in several different pieces.

But even some of the warriors in the foxholes weren't lucky. Sometimes, a stray bolt would land directly on top of the makeshift defense positions. There weren't many remains left to prove that the foxholes, or craters, were occupied or not.

Ahsoka, like the others, ducked their heads deep into the trench, waiting for the bombardment to subside.

* * *

Gar Saxon raised his hand.

On his order, the naval fire subsided.

Everyone on the bridge looked at him.

"Prepare the troops for ground assault".

Everyone did as he said, and began to prep the troops for the attack.

It was time to finish this.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant_.

Back at the center of the Republic, chaos reigned across the planet's surface. The battle for control of the galactic center was in full swing.

In the streets below, a platoon of Separatist Hailfire droids were rolling on ahead. The two-wheeled attack droids fired volleys of purple glowing missiles across the city, striking a multitude of targets, both military and civilian.

One of them struck the side of a skyscraper known as 500 Republica, which was the luxurious home of many Republic politicians and business people. The missile blasted a hole into the wall of an apartment owned by the secret wife of Anakin Skywalker. The Naboo senator Padme Amidala.

Her caretaker droid, C-3PO walked by the hole and began to panic.

"OH NOO! We're under attack! Oh dear!"

As the gold plated droid continued panicking, Padmé's head of security, Captain Gregar Typho, rushes up to her.

"My lady. I must get you to safety," the eye patch wearing security officer said.

"No. We have to evacuate the building. Get everyone to a shelter," Padme instructed.

Typho nodded. "Yes Milady," he said before he rushed off to gather the other officers to get everyone to safety.

3PO was still looking at the chaos outside. He looked down into the streets.

"I can't believe my circuits. An army of Droids! Here?" He began to wag his finger at the Separatist forces on the streets below. "I'd like to have a serious with your programmers-whoa whoa-oh!" he exclaimed as Padme began to pull him away by his shoulder.

"Come on 3PO," she said.

* * *

Outside, above and within the imposing skyscrapers of Coruscant, fighters from both sides engaged in vicious dogfights.

Mace Windu flew his purple Jedi interceptor through the explosions that dotted the city's skyline. He avoided missiles and laser blasts from the surface before he began to join the Republic fighters that fought desperately to hold off the waves of droid fighters that seemed to swarm every part of the sky. Mace pulled the trigger for his ship's blaster cannons. Any droid fighter that flew into his line of fire was destroyed.

That's when he saw red laser blasts fly out of his peripheral vision and past the bow of his fighter. He looked over his shoulder to see three Tri-droid fighters trailing his fighter. He increased his speed and began to swerve around the buildings in an effort to lose them. he eventually saw a speeder garage about midway up a building off to his right. he circled back and flew down to move towards it. His pursuers chased him down. But he had an idea to lose them. He folded his wings and flew into the skinny garage. He just barely fit. And, just as he expected, his pursuers didn't. All three fighters slammed into the building hen they tried to follow. A massive ball of fire was formed by the explosion and began to chase Windu's fighter. When he flew out of the other side of the building, the ball of fire blossomed out of the garage.

As soon as he flew out of the garage, he went straight back to wiping out Separatist fighters. He blasted a pair that flew past his line of fire. Then he chased three more through the city streets. He destroyed all of them.

Suddenly, the midday light of the sky began to darken. He arched an eye brow over the other as he looked up in confusion. That's when he saw that he had flown right into a swarm of droid fighters so immense that it blocked out the sun overhead. Hundreds of fighters zipped past him. He tried to avoid them, but he was hit by several of the tightly packed together fighters. When all four of his wings were torn off, he began to spin out of control, trailing smoke as he did. He struggled to get the fighter back under control, but to no avail. So instead, he unbuckled himself from the seat and opened up the cockpit. When it was fully opened, he stood up, his robes flapping in the wind. That's when he jumped up into the air, just in time to see his fighter slam into the top of a skyscraper and explode.

He then went into free-fall. He spreadeagled his arms and legs to slow his descent, as the cool air began to rip past him like thousands of tiny little knives. The sounds of the rushing air and wind nearly deafened him. But despite that, he closed his eyes and listened to the force, which seemed to bring every sound around him to a quiet whisper. Then he opened his eyes when he heard a buzzing noise. It was a vulture droid fighter. He landed on its head and he ignited his lightsaber, which he used to cut open its head. With an opening made for him, he plunged his free fist deep into the droid's head, getting caught in a mess of tangled wires.

But after a few seconds, the droid fighter lost control and began to plummet to the surface below, taking the Jedi with it. The fighter continued to spin out of control.

Windu flew past through the chaotic battle around him. An ARC-170 star-fighter was being chased by a pair of vulture droids. But they crashed into a speeder platform that hovered over the city, bring all of them down in a brilliant explosion. But the Clone fighter got away.

But at the moment, the same could not be said for Windu. He continued to tangle his fist in the droid's wires. The spinning droid was coming up on rooftop fast. But then he heard the droid's head click and blink to life. He was in control. He pulled back on the wires and used them to steer the ship, which back up in a steep climb.

It was time to rejoin the fight.

* * *

Three clone pilots in an ARC-170 were being chased through the skyscrapers by a trio of vulture droids. The tail gunner watched as the droids refused to get lost.

"We've got three on our tail," the gunner said. Then he heard an alarm begin to beep rapidly. He looked back to see that a forth fighter was joining the chase. "Now four!"

"Take them out," the pilot ordered.

The gunner pressed his buttons down on the triggers before he began to wave the barrel in the direction of the four fighters. But no matter what, they seemed to be able to avoid each shot that was thrown their way.

But unbeknownst to the three clone pilots, a Jedi was riding the forth ship. Windu flew the ship beneath the rear vulture and pointed his blade up, causing it to slice h=through it as he passed. It exploded behind him. Then he flew above the second droid. He piloted upside down and pointed his blade at the second fighter. He sliced through that one and got the same result. Then he flew directly behind the third droid fighter. He slashed his sword in an 'X' shape across the back of the droid's head. It exploded. But the ARC-170's blaster fire continued to fly in his direction. He deflected every shot that came his way.

"Good shooting!" The clone pilot said.

"Uh! It-it wasn't me," the stunned clone gunner said in shock.

That's when the forth vulture droid flew alongside them. They all looked in amazement when they saw Mace Windu flying the fighter with his bare fist.

"General Windu?!" The pilot exclaimed before Mace flew off to rejoin the battle.

* * *

Over a different part of the planet, Saesee Tiin was leading his squadron of fighters into the outer atmosphere of Coruscant.

They flew up and up until the white clouded sky was replaced by a blue haze, which then turned into space, which looked like a black board with white stars dotting it. But as they got further from the atmosphere, they noticed that many of the stars looked like they were getting closer. Then the pilots started to see red and blue lights blinking across the picture in front of them. Then when they got even closer they saw that the stars were actually _thousands_ of Separatist warships doing battle with a similar amount of Republic Star Destroyers.

General Tiin and his squadron went to work. They flew straight into battle, dogfighting enemy vulture droids and strafing the vital systems of Separatist warships.

The Republic fleet was doing its best to protect its own capital. They got in close to the separatist cruisers and began to hammer away at them from close range. All while they were surrounded by swarms of dogfighting fighters from both sides.

But, despite the Republic's valiant efforts, the already numerous Separatist forces were continually receiving a steady stream of reinforcements from hyperspace. Another battlegroup of Separatist munificent class star frigates, recusant class light destroyers, and providence class cruisers, shot out of hyperspace. Saesee Tiin watched as the recusant class destroyer came out of hyperspace to close to a Republic star destroyer. It fired its heavy cannons at the charging warship, but it was no use. Tiin watched in horror as the separatist ship's knife-like bow stabbed right into the Republic cruiser amidships, causing a powerful explosion that ripped it in half.

Tiin shook his head, realizing that the cruiser could not be saved. He flew his fighter until he found his flagship, the RSD _Impavid_. From there, he planned to take command of the Republic's orbital defenses. But when he found his flagship, he noticed that the starboard tower of the bridge superstructure was on fire and trailing smoke, along with all of the heavy cannons on the starboard side at the base of the tower. It looked like the ship was barely limping along. He flew the ship towards the main hanger to assess the damage. A squadron of ARC-170s flew out of the ship to go right back into the fight, despite the ship's heavy damage. When Tiin flew inside, he noticed that the clones were trying to evacuate the heavy equipment and get the remaining fighters to take off. The idea behind was that if the ship was lost, then the fighters and gunships didn't have to be.

The Iktotch Jedi master landed his green interceptor in the main hanger that ran along the length of the ship.

When he jumped out of the fighter, a clone command with white armor, red markings, and a shoulder pauldron ran up to him.

"General Tiin, the ship is lost," he said.

Tiin looked out of the open hanger and saw a separatist warship nearby. He suddenly had an idea.

"Then it's time to get a new one," Tiin said.

His commander looked out of the hanger and saw what he was looking at. His confusion disappeared.

"Yes Sir".

* * *

On the deck of the Separatist warship, CSS _Prosperous_ , Separatist batteries began to blast away at Republic warships that were within their range. B1 battle droids were next to them, firing their blaster rifles as well, adding all of their firepower to the fight.

But they didn't pay any attention to a Republic cruiser that was passing over them with it's port side pointed down. The Seps didn't pay it any mind because it was crippled and trailing smoke.

Big mistake.

Every main cannon on the cruise's port-side fired on the Separatist turbo lasers that protected the ship, destroying several of them.

* * *

General Tiin placed a mask over his face to protect himself from the vacuum-less void of space. He turned to face the port side hanger door. He stood in front of a battalion of Clone Marines, who were elite infantry attached to the Republic Navy.

They stood at attention, with their rifle stocks on the deck.

"Prepare to board!" Tiin ordered.

"Hut!" The Marines all called out in unison as they tapped their rifle stocks on the floor, causing an echo on the deck, before they lifted their rifles and assumed the port arms stance.

Then silence. They all waited as the hanger bay doors opened, revealing the ship below them. A Separatist ship that they planned on boarding.

"ATTACK!" Tiin shouted before he jumped out into space.

His Marines activated their jetpacks and flew out into space with him. Tiin activated his saber as he and hundreds of marines began their assault. They landed on the deck and began to fire their rifles at the enemy turbo lasers and the maintenance droids.

Master Tiin pointed his sword downward before he plunged it into the outer hull. He moved his blade in a circular motion that that allowed him to cut a hole out. He used the force to flick the slab of metal away. He waved his troopers towards the hole he just cut out, motioning his troopers to follow before he jumped into the ship.

Master Tiin jumped into the ship to be surrounded by battle droids. But he deflected al of their blaster fire and charged into the mess of droids, hacking away at them with ease. A few of his marines followed, and they began to blast away at the assembled droids before some fanned out to take the ship, while others rushed off to follow Tiin to the bridge.

* * *

Outside, the majority of the Clone Marines were still landing on the hull of the _Prosperous_. The ship's turbo lasers pointed up and began to fire on the clones before most of them had even landed. They took heavy casaulties.

Some cannons even started to fire on the hull to swat the troopers that had already landed.

But despite the blood bath, the Clones fought on, firing their blaster rifles at the Separatist turrets.

* * *

Inside the _Prosperous_ , a squad of commando droids were protecting the bridge. Two of them were guarding the door from the inside. But then they turned towards the door when they heard a lightsaber humming and swinging, along with blaster fire and explosions.

Then suddenly, the door flew open, crushing the two droids. The remaining droids sprung into action and began to fir on the charging Jedi and his troopers. But they were swiftly cut apart.

The clones blasted away at the droid crew members that controlled the ship's systems at their stations.

That's when Master Tiin sliced apart the last remaining droids and immediately took control of the ship.

* * *

Back on the hull, the Marines were still taking cover from the cannons that fired on them. But that's when they stopped firing. The marines peaked over cover just in time to see the cannons turning around as they felt the ship lurch as it turned around. That's when they saw the cannons beginning to fire on a nearby recusant class destroyer. Explosions dotted its hull before it erupted in a brilliant flash of light appeared on the spinal structure that held the engines and the ship together.

It broke in two.

The Clones stood up and cheered when they realized that their brothers had taken the ship.

All thanks to General Saesee Tiin's leadership.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Hanger bay, RSD Indomitable, en route to Mandalore system_.

Anakin and his trusty droid sidekick, R2-D2, were busy working on Anakin's Jedi Interceptor. He sat in the cockpit while R2 manned the astromech compartment in near the port-side wing. Whenever Anakin needed to get his mind off of things, he went to put his mechanical skills to the test. Right now, they were going some calibrations on the Yellow and dark gray fighter.

But no amount of tinkering will ever get his mind off the problem that he faced.

"Improving your fighter's performance are we?" a new voice asked.

Anakin saw that it was his former master. He then looked right back at the displays in front of him.

"Uh, yeah. I am. Artoo, divert more power into the starboard engine," he ordered.

Artoo beeped a reply and did as he was told. At the same time, Anakin continued to tap his fingers against the displays in front of him, pretending that his master wasn't there and that nothing was on his mind whatsoever.

But Obi-Wan could see right through him, Jedi or not.

"Anakin ... dwelling on Ahsoka's decision won't bring her back," he said.

Anakin just stared at the cockpit floor beneath him. He tapped his feet rapidly before he expressed himself.

"I miss her, okay?" He snapped. "Is that what you wanted me to say?" He sighed. "I still can't understand how she could have just left the Order".

"It was a surprise decision to all of us," Obi-Wan said, trying to calm Anakin down.

"It was wrong!" Anakin exclaimed before he threw a small power convertor down onto the floor. "She's a Jedi. She belongs with us ... she's one of us," he said, looking at Obi-Wan.

"She made the decision Anakin," Obi-Wan said.

"Well what choice did we give her?!" Anakin snapped. "The moment there were any suspicions about her loyalty, the Council turned their backs on her".

Obi-Wan turned away and lowered his head. Anakin did the same.

"*Sigh*. I will grant you, mistakes were made. But _she_ chose to leave. Part of the Jedi way is not letting emotion cloud your better judgment. And that is exactly what Ahsoka did. Even in her most critical moment".

There was silence between them as Anakin digested this conversation.

"We're about to go into battle Anakin. Why don't you get some rest?"

"I'm not tired Master. I'm about to go inspect the troops. You go ahead and rest".

"Well then ... I will accept your kind offer," he said before he went to turn in the direction of his quarters. But he stopped himself, and turned his head over his shoulder to see Anakin still sulking. "You can't take responsibility for Ahsoka's decision Anakin".

Anakin finally spoke, his eyes not leaving the display in front of him.

"How would you feel if I turned into a major disappointment?"

Obi-Wan was taken aback by the question.

"It's not the same".

"It's precisely the same," Anakin pointed out. "You took me under your wing and practically raised me. I'm your padawan, just like Ahsoka was mine. How well would you sleep knowing I failed you?'

Obi-Wan had a blank stare.

"Not very well I imagine," he finally said. "Luckily, that isn't true ... and it never will be".

And with that, Obi-Wan walked off towards his quarters, leaving Anakin to think about their conversation, and about how his reunion with Ahsoka would go, after not seeing each other for months.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant_.

On the surface, away from the Jedi Temple, Master Yoda climbed on top of the wreckage of a downed Republic gunship, which was apart of what remained of the ruined Republic forces in this area. When he got to the top, he could see a massive droid battalion in front of him. Blaster bolts flew all around him.

In the sky, coming around a skyscraper behind the droid battalion, a massive swarm of droid star-fighters were flying towards him.

Undaunted, the short and old Jedi master raised his hand and concentrated on the droid army in front of him. He lifted hundreds of approaching droids into the air, where they collide with the droid star fighters, destroying all of them.

Behind him, a C-9979 transport was disembarking its forces onto the battlefield. Yoda swiftly turned around and pushed the heavy tanks back into the ship. He then closed the ship's doors and began to push the ship backwards. Sparks began to fly out from under the ship as it scraped against the metal surface. Yoda then used the force to force a second ship, which hadn't landed yet, to crash into the first ship. Both transports fell apart in a crumpled heap before they went up in a brilliant explosion.

He sensed another pair of C-9979 ships behind him, and turned round to face them. They were coming in for a landing. Clapping his hands together, he used the force to cause the two 'H' shaped transports to crash into one another in midair. Both ships went up in another brilliant explosion.

He closed his eyes and lowered his hands when the coast was clear. What would've taken a regiment of clones hours to deal with, only took the 900 year old Jedi seconds.

But it wasn't over yet. From inside the downed gunship he stood atop, he heard a message come in from its still working communicator.

 _"Alert: We're losing ground at sector 4! Repeat: Losing ground at sector 4!"_

Master Yoda jumped into the air and landed on his pet Kybuck before racing off to help.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Nite Owl base camp, Concordia, Mandalore_.

Yellow flashes of light were flashing back and forth as the battle for Concordia went into full swing. Shadow Collective warships hung in the sky, hammering the Nite Owl camp that was on the surface, providing cover for their ground forces.

Shadow Collective tanks began to hover towards the outer perimeter of the camp. They moved up hill to attack the Nite owl trenches. There were several artillery pieces being used to hold off the enemy hover tanks. The gunner was in a seat attached to the side. As they fired away at the advancing tanks, Nite Owl warriors used their jetpacks to fly in and strafe the infantry on the ground. _**(A/N: In my stories, most of Maul's forces are the riot troopers from the Clone Wars, but with red and black armor. Also, a lot of people serving the Nite owls are Mandalorian resistance. According to a wookiepedia page, Death Watch was rumored to have 5000 members. Clearly not enough to hold a planet, or even a city for that matter).** _

Mandalorian fighters from both sides engaged in vicious dogfights in the skies above.

Back on the ground, Ahsoka was in one of the trenches on the front with some of Kryze's people. Dred Priest and Ordo Skirata.

The gun crew were doing everything they could to hold off Maul's army. The gunner that was closest to Ahsoka and her allies was hit in the chest and fell out of the turret in a crumpled heap.

"Someone get on that gun!" Dred ordered as fired his sniper rifle in the direction of the enemy.

Ahsoka looked at the empty chair and sprung into action. "I'm on it!" She said as she force jumped into the empty seat. She tapped the screen and activated the targeting computer. She then began to traverse the cannon to the left until the crosshairs hovered over a Shadow Collective tank. "Eat this," she said under her breath as she pressed her fingers into the buttons that controlled the cannons. The tip of the barrel exploded and sent an energy bolt down range. It smashed into a Mandalorian tank and caused it to glow. Then a powerful explosion caused the turret to lift up out of its mount and send it about thirty feet into the air. The explosion also killed several infantry. She smiled to herself and began to get back to work.

"Tano! Enemy tank to the south!" Ordo said.

"I see it!" She said as she aimed the cannon at the tank. She fired, putting a round through its broadside and causing a brilliant explosion.

Explosions continued to go off all around the area. Dirt and body parts were blown up into the air.

"Make every shot count!" Dred ordered.

But for every tank she destroyed, two more seemed to take its place. It also seemed like for every shot she got off, a Nite Owl turrets was destroyed as well. So even though she was going to town on Maul's army, they were picking off the Nite Owls like flies.

"Ma'am! They're breaking through. Our right flank has collapsed!" Dred shouted into his comm as he fired his sniper rifle at the dancing enemy.

" _Just keep holding!_ " Bo-Katan ordered.

Ahsoka continued to fire on the advancing enemy forces, taking out enemy armored vehicles and clusters of infantry.

"Tano! Look out!" Someone shouted.

Ahsoka looked over her right shoulder to see that a Shadow Collective tank was staring right at her. Her eyes widened. She dove out of the seat just in time for the tank to fire. It ripped right through her gun, causing an explosion tat sent her flying into the ground.

Her head started buzzing and she felt someone trying to pick her up. It was Dred, who helped her to her feet. "Come on. We've gotta get out of here and form up Kryze.

"Come on. Into the trenches!" Ordo shouted. Ahsoka and the two mandos ran away from the burning turrets to get away from the advancing Shadow Collective. They ran into the trenches, making sure to keep their heads down as blaster fire zipped back and forth over the trenches. They ran past dead bodies, debris, and several fires. As they ran, they heard com chatter from a dead Nite Owl.

" _They're overrunning the trenches!"_

 _"We're running low on ammo!"_

 _"Get the wounded up hill to the main camp!_ "

Several explosions went off around them. A Maul tank, the same one that took out Ahsoka's cannon, was following them.

"We've gotta outrun that tank!" Ahsoka shouted. "Move!"

The three combatants ran deeper into the trenches, shooting any Maul trooper that got in their way. They just kept running and running up hill through the trenches until they made it back to Nite Owl territory. When they did, a flight of Nite Owl super-commandoes flew by and launched a volley of rockets at the tank that's been following Ahsoa and her companions for the last few, agonizing minutes.

They eventually came up to a on the Nite Owl's left flank. Ursa Wren and a few warriors from Clan Wren were holding their position. One of them was manning a repeating blaster turret, which was mounted on a bipod resting over the top of the trench wall. He fired down on the advancing Maul troopers. That's when they saw a Shadow Collective tank aim its cannon at their position.

"Incoming!" One of the Wren warriors shouted.

An explosion ripped through the entrenchment and injuring several warriors.

"Is everyone alright!" Wren called out.

"We lost two of our warriors!"

"Get the injured out of here and fall back up the hill".

Ahsoka, Wren, Ordo, and Dred all ran through the trenches up towards the center of the hill. They felt the ground shake beneath them as explosions rocked the hills. They met Kryze, who was looking over a holo-map while crouched down under cover.

"Alright, here's our situation: We have to to get to our western flank and fortify it, because Maul's forces are starting to break through," Kryze said.

"But those tanks have us pinned down," Wren said.

"So we'll try a pincer movement. Wren and Skirata will take our men and go through the trenches. Priest, go up the ridge and provide sniper support from those rocks up the ridge. Tano, you're on point," she said.

Ahsoka looked back and forth between the warriors in front of her.

"Great".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Sector 4, Coruscant_.

The battle for the heart of the Republic was still raging hard. On a bridge that crossed over a deep gorge and was flanked on either end by large towering statues of Senatorial guardsmen. On the bridge itself, a battalion of clones were trying to hold off thousands of droids that were marching over. The Separatist droids marched across the bridge, and were under heavy fire.

The clones were on one end of the bridge behind several makeshift barriers. But they were struggling to hold their position with both hands. Clone Captain Fordo, a clone with red markings and a shoulder pauldron, was on the bridge speaking into his wrist comm with his back facing the bridge, while his men held the line.

"Sector 4 needs reinforcements! We are being overrun. Repeat, we are-," He stopped mid sentence when he saw one trooper fall beside him and another one withdrawing. He looked behind him to see several SBDs walking over and through the barriers.

One of them was standing over a barrier right on top of him. He turned around and pointed his DC-15a rifle at the closest droid. He fired three blaster rounds at the droid, tearing it apart and causing it to fall over. He felt another droid behind him trying to grab him. Fordo swiftly turned around and bashed his rifle across the droid's face, forcing him to the ground before he blasted the downed droid into a pile a scrap. A third droid tried to blast him from behind, but he turned around and threw his rifle at the droid's face. The droid was pushed back, giving Fordo room to reach for his sidearm and blast several chunks out of the droid's head. The veteran clone captain fired his sidearm as he leaned over to reach for a DC-15a rifle from a fallen clone. He picked it up and began to fire it rapidly with one hand, tearing apart several SBDs, as he fired his pistol with the other hand.

Despite his incredible efforts, it was too much. His men were about to be overwhelmed.

He began to wave his pistol hand back as he continued firing his rifle. "Fall Back! Fall back! Fall Back!"

Suddenly, an antlered creature jumped out of no where, carrying a little green goblin looking creature with a lightsaber.

"Hold your positions! Hold your positions!" Master Yoda ordered as his Kybuck rammed into an SBD, smashing it to the ground. As his Kybuck rammed into the droid, Yoda stood on its back and began to slash and plunge his blade through the droids that surrounded him.

As the Clones started to slowly push back across the bridge, a vulture droid carrying a dark-skinned Jedi flew right above their heads and crash landed on the bridge. The Jedi jumped off the ship as it plowed through a wave of droids. He landed in the middle of a squad of SBDs and began to punch them with his lightning fast fists. One by one, each droid that tried to subdue him was met by the Jedi's bare fists. He punched them so hard that their circuitry was exposed. As he punched one droid, his lightsaber floated off of his belt and ignited through the head of another droid that got behind him. He swiftly turned around and grabbed the blade to assume a fighting stance.

As explosions dotted the bridge, Master Yoda was able to make out who the Jedi was.

"Master Windu!" Yoda called out as he slashed through another pair of SBDs.

Mace Windu heard who it was and went to join him. Both Jedi stood side by side and channeled their force abilities to push dozens of droid off of either side of the bridge. But more droids took their place and charged across the bridge.

Both Jedi (even Yoda) stood tall as the droids charged towards them.

"ATTACK!" Windu called out as he and Yoda ignited their blades and charged into the wave of droids.

The Clones did as they were ordered and followed their generals into battle with a loud battle cry. The Jedi and their men blasted, slashed, and bashed their way through the wall of droids. In the chaos, more powerful explosions began to dot the bridge, blasting clones and droids alike apart.

But despite the casualties, neither side showed any signs of withdrawing from the chaos.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Chancellor Palpatine's private residency, 500 Republica, Coruscant_.

The most powerful man in the galaxy sat in a luxurious, and decorative room, which was modest compared to some senators. The walls and floor were decorated in red, and the Senator filled every spot he could with works of art, mostly from the galaxy beyond Naboo, a sign of the Senator's worldly view.

He sat back and poured himself a cup of tea. When the tea was poured, a distant explosion caused the table to vibrate, shaking the glass and disturbing the liquid in his cup. When the tea settled, the old man wearing blue robes took the glass in his hands, brought it to his lips, and took a sip.

Chancellor Palpatine was watching the Battle of Coruscant unfold outside of his window.

Far off in the distance, Republic and Separatist warships continued to hammer away at each other, release troops onto the battlefield, or launch fighters into the air to dogfight with one another. Explosions continued to rumble in the distance, vibrating the floor beneath his feet. The building had been evacuated. But Palpatine didn't leave. He didn't mind. He was content with sitting back in his chair, in the middle of room, sipping tea, relaxing, and watching his forces protect the Capital.

He smiled before he took another sip of Tea.

But that's when he heard a chime at the door.

"Come in," he said.

When the door slid open with a hiss, three Jedi, a squad of clones, and several senatorial guards filed into the room. The three jedi were Shaak Ti, a togrutan who was a member of the Jedi council, along with a Talz named Foul Moudama, and an ithorian named Roron Corobb.

"Supreme Chancellor, we must get you to your shelter immediately," Shaak Ti said.

Palpatine was very calm. He turned his chair around and stood up.

"But the battle is so far off," Palpatine said calmly.

"Please Supreme Chancellor," Shaak Ti urged. "We must follow safety protocol, and get you to-".

"I will not cower in the face of this treacherous attack," Palpatine said adamantly.

Suddenly, a faint banging sound began to pound through the ceiling. It caused everyone in the room to tense up. The clones and the Jedi looked around. They scanned the ceiling, they looked at the windows, and back at the door, trying to pinpoint the exact direction that the sound was coming from. The Chancellor looked up at the ceiling in confusion.

"What is...that...gah, what is that sound?" He asked.

The pounding sound got louder, which meant that it was getting closer and closer. That's when Shaak ti began to use her Lekku's echolocation. She began to hear clanking metal and servos whining. It was a sound that she alone had experience with, of all the people in this room.

"We have to go! Now!" She urged.

That's when the sound suddenly stopped.

The Chancellor looked up at the ceiling and smiled.

"Mmmh. See? It was nothing," Palpatine said as a familiar cyborg poked his head into everyone's view while outside.

Everyone tensed up.

"Chancellor-," Shaak Ti tried to say when the cyborg swung from the edge of the roof and smashed through the window. The Chancellor was thrown to the ground and glass flew everywhere.

Palpatine tried to get up. That's when a shadow was cast over him. He turned and looked up with surprise as he see a large skeleton looking cyborg towering above him.

It was General Grievous.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Well, that's part 13 folks. Part 14 will be right around the corner.**

 **And do feel free to leave your thoughts down in the review section if you wish. Just keep the criticism constructive is all I ask.**


	14. Chapter 14-On Our Own

**Have no fear, Grubkiller is here.**

 **Hey everyone. Here's part 14.**

 **As you've all probably noticed, while writing this particular story, I've been using scenes from some of my favorite Clone Wars moments, both from the 2003 and 2008 cartoons. I've enjoyed rewetting them.**

 **Hope you all enjoy.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"We're being jammed. We have no communication. We're on our own."-Unknown Clone Trooper to Jedi Master Shaak Ti.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

General Grievous, the supreme commander of the droid army, killer of countless Jedi throughout the war, and instigator of some of the war's worst atrocities, stood tall and with his cape flapping in a breeze that came through the broken window behind him.

Shaak Ti and the others assumed a defensive stance and prepared to save the Chancellor and stop Grievous.

But before any scuffle could take place, Chancellor Palpatine stood up.

"How dare you barge into my private residence!" He said as he dusted himself off. "Who do you think you are?" Palpatine asked as he pointed a testy finger in Grievous' direction, who just stood their, looking less than amused.

"Chancellor, I don't think-" Shaak Ti tried to say before Palpatine cut her off.

"I'll take care of this," he said before he looked back at Grievous. "I am Supreme Chancellor Palpatine of the Galactic Republic, and I will not be bullied by any thug who happens to-" he said as Grievous began to swat at Palpatine. But before he could grab his throat, Palpatine flew back across the room into Master Ti's arms.

"Take him," she ordered her men as she dragged the Chancellor out of the room with her Jedi companions.

When the door closed behind them, the Coruscant guardsmen formed a firing line that blocked the General's path to the door and aimed their weapons at the cyborg general.

He stood there and groaned.

That's when every trooper in the room unleashed a hailstorm of blue blaster bolts at Grievous. He jumped up into the air and dove over the clones until he was standing in the middle of the group. Grievous ignited a blue saber and green saber and began to deflect the clone's laser bolts before he began to hack away at the clones around him. he sliced through their weapons and themselves as he swung his blades. One trooper had his arm pinned to the wall by the General's foot before his torso was slashed by the General's blade. He grabbed another trooper by the ankle with his own foot before he threw him, or kicked him out. The screaming trooper crashes through the window and plummeted to his death. Grievous then slashed through two troopers simultaneously before he kicked a trooper so hard in the head that his helmet shattered and his neck snapped back with a sickening crack. He used one of his taloned feet to grapple onto a clone's head before he smashed it into a wall. He continued to slaughter his way through the troopers that still occupied the room with them.

It was a blood bath.

* * *

Outside in the hallway, Shaak Ti and her Jedi companions, along with two clone troopers were escorting the Chancellor to safety. They ran up to the elevator. Shake Ti pressed the button to summon the elevator.

As they waited, everyone looked back at the door to the Chancellor's private residency. They heard blaster fire and the sounds of screaming clones coming from the other side. It was terrifying to listen too.

All of a sudden, the noises stopped. The silence that hovered over them was unsettling and ominous.

"Stay behind me," Shaak Ti instructed.

"Yes," Palpatine acknowledged as he pressed his back to the wall.

The clones aimed their rifles down the wall and the Jedi prepared to ignite their sabers.

As they waited for the inevitability of Grievous' attack, Master Roron Corobb stabbed his finger into the button repeatedly in a vain attempt to summon the elevator more quickly.

Seconds later, the doors that led to the Chancellor's residency suddenly ripped open. General Grievous charged out of the door and into the hallway. He moved on all four and crawled on the walls until he began to jump from wall to wall as he got closer, his taloned feet clanking against the walls.

The clones fired their rifles at Grievous as the Jedi tried to use the force to blast holes into the walls wherever he landed.

Master Foul Moudama used the force to rip the wall out, but Grievous was able to avoid it by jumping to the opposite wall. As Master Corobb used the force to rip the wall section out from underneath Grievous, Shaak Ti was concentrating, using the force and her togrutan hunting skills to try and track Grievous' movement and predict where he'd land next. As soon as Grievous jumped off of the wall, Shaak Ti used the force to rip out another section of the wall just as Grievous was about to land on the wall. He ended up going through it instead.

Finally, the elevator blinked. It had arrived. As the door opened, on of the Clones led Palpatine into the elevator with the other clone. Shaak Ti and Moudama entered the elevator.

Corobb was about to follow when he saw Grievous recover and begin charging don the hallway again. Corobb turned around and planted his feet firmly onto the floor. He leaned back and drew in a deep breath. He then let out a powerful roar that caused the entire hallway to shake. The walls vibrated until they began to tear apart. That's when debris began to fall into the hallway until Grievous was buried under a pile of debris.

When the cyborg general was buried, Corobb jumped into the elevator, where it began its descent.

* * *

As the elevator descended everyone casually waited for the elevator to reach its destination.

Shaak Ti and Palpatine noticed that Master Corobb was breathing heavily. That roar took a lot out of him.

"Ithorians. Four throats. Quite powerful," Shaak Ti said, referring to Corobb's ability to roar like that.

"So I've heard," Palpatine said as he dug used his fingertip to dig around in his ear, which was ringing.

* * *

Back on the top floor, Grievous exploded from the pile of rubble. He then went up to the elevator and began to rip the doors open. He tossed them aside and looked at the elevator shaft.

 _'You won't get away that easily old man'_.

* * *

Chancellor Palpatine stood and looked out the window of the elevator. It was dark since they were still technically inside the building. But then they saw the sun shining on all of them. In a way, it was a sign that there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

Everyone continued to patiently wait for the elevator ride to come to an end.

That's when everyone saw something in their peripheral vision. They all turned to see General Grievous. But that was impossible. He was running as quickly as they were. They realized that they weren't hallucinating when Grievous turned his head towards them.

Palpatine recoiled in fear and was pushed by the jedi behind them, as they waited for Grievous to stop running and just attack.

But one of the clones from the Coruscant guard was taking the initiative. He took the launcher that was over his shoulder and loaded it with a rocket. He put it on his shoulder and aimed it until the crosshairs were hovering over Grievous' face. he fired, sending the rocket crashing the window. it caused the spot that Grievous was running in to disappear, seemingly wiping out the General.

The elevator filled with smoke and caused everyone to cough as they waved it away. They may've been coughing up smoke, but at lease Grievous wasn't tearing their throats out.

When the elevator reached the bottom floor, the doors opened, allowing Palpatine and his escorts to exit.

"Hurry! get to the shi-" She stopped herself and froze. Her companions did the same. What forced them to stop was a company of Super Battle Droids, which had been waiting for them this entire time.

Smoke rose up from behind them. The fire was in the spot that their ship was landed. It was destroyed now.

Just when things seemed like they couldn't get any worse, General Grievous landed in front of the droids, which began to advance.

Master Corobb ran in front of the group and unleashed another throat blast at the Separatist. All of the advancing droids were swept away and tossed aside. But Grievous wasn't going to fall to the same trick twice. He leaned into the storm and began to use the claws on his taloned feet to hang on, slowly advancing towards them. Master Corobb tried to increase the power of his roar, causing steel plates to tear away from the ground and be blown away. But Grievous continued to advance.

Realizing that it was no use, a dumbstruck Shaak Ti urged the group on. Master Moudama scooped a surprised Palpatine into is massive furry arms before he and the other two Jedi run along with the two remaining clone troopers. They disappeared around a corner and began to run.

"Trooper, call for support!" Shaak Ti ordered.

"We're being jammed. We have no communication. We're on our own," the trooper stated.

Shaak Ti looked ahead and was shocked to see Two IG-100 MagnaGuards suddenly appear in front of them. Deciding to keep running forward, the Jedi and Palpatine manage to evade their electro-staffs by jumping over them. The clones, deciding to stay slow the droids down, fired their weaponry at the two guards. They spun their staffs like propellors, deflecting their blaster bolts. But the other trooper used his rocket launcher. He fired rocket, which soared into the air and hit the ground beneath them, wiping out both droids. But that's when Grievous rushed up behind them and backhanded them over the side, where they plummeted to their deaths as they screamed.

Grievous turned his attention to his target and the Jedi who carried him. They were running away on a bridge that led to another building. he jumped down with two more guards and charged after them.

The hunt was on.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _RSD Indomitable, in hyperspace outside the Mandalore system_.

Anakin waited inside of his Jedi interceptor, waiting for the opportunity to fly out into battle. It was nerve racking, having to wait hours for the battle to begin. He was also worried sick about his former padawan, who was in the same camp a a bunch of terrorists, and in the same system as a tyrannical madman who refused to die.

 _'But force help either of them if they hurt Ahsoka'_.

His squadron was waiting behind him. Gold squadron. He and Ahsoka used to share this squad, before she got her own. They were all gunning up for some serious action. Their trigger fingers were itchy and their teeth were bared. He didn't want to disappoint any of them. That's when Admiral Yularen's voice rang out over the intercom.

 _"We're nearing Mandalore. All ships, route power to forward deflectors._ "

Anakin felt the Indomitable decelerate out of hyperspace. By now, he knew, the blue tunnel was gone and replaced by the stillness of normal space. A moon hung in front of them.

It was nearly time to get to work.

"All right Gold Squadron, report in".

" _Gold 2 standing by"._

 _"Gold 3 standing by_ ".

They kept reporting in until about Gold 20.

" _General Skywalker. You and Gold Squadron are clear for take off. Good hunting out there,_ " said a voice on the comm.

"Roger that tower control," Anakin said before he punched in a few keys on the controls in front of him. That's when his fighter took off. moved out of the hanger compartment and flew down the ship's spinal door, which opened up to reveal Concordia moon right in front of them.

One by one, his fighters followed him out of the ship. He circled the cruiser until everyone was right behind him. That's when he flew off in the direction of the enemy fleet.

* * *

"Commander Saxon! Republic warships have entered the system!"

Gar Saxon turned around and almost tripped when he ran back to the command center. He looked at the holo-table and saw that the crewman was correct. There were in fact Republic warships in system. 12 Star-Destroyers and various support/escort craft. The red doors that ran the length of each cruiser opened up and spilled squadrons of fighters out into the void before they flew towards the Shadow Collective fleet.

"Recall all of our fighters from the surface and target those Republic cruisers," Saxon ordered.

The crewmen nodded and turned back to their station.

"And someone call Mandalore for reinforcements!"

* * *

Anakin and his fighter continued to fly towards the Shadow Collective fleet. But then the ships started opening fire. Gold squadron was suddenly caught in a hailstorm of yellow laser bolts.

"Gold Squadron, take evasive action!" Anakin ordered.

"Sir Yes Sir, breaking off," Anakin's second in command replied.

The ARC-170s broke apart and flew in different direction. But one fighter was hit. The ship broke apart and barrel rolled into another Republic fighter. Then the real chaos began. Mandalorian fang fighters zoomed up to meet the Republic fighters. A vicious dogfight raged hard between the two fleets. Fighters from both sides exploded in a ball of fire and debris.

All around Anakin, warships from both sides fired on each other from a distance that was constantly decreasing. Blue and yellow streaks of light crossed the threshold between the two fleets, causing damage on either side.

The Republic, however, caused more damage. Their rounds bore through the lightly armored Mandalorian warships, which were meant for securing the system and providing ground support. They weren't meant to go toe to toe with Star-destroyers.

Vicious dogfights broke out around the Republic fleet.

The comm chatter was was confusing, as both good and bad news was being reported left and right.

" _I'm hit, I'm hit! I'm going down!"_

 _"Nice job Blue five!"_

 _"Watch your stabilizer Gold six!"_

 _"I've got a target lined up, missiles away!"_

 _"I've got two on my tail! I can't shake 'em!"_

"Don't worry pilot, I'm on 'em," Anakin said as he got behind the two fang fighters that were pursuing an ARC-170. He waited until the targets were lined up with his targeting computer. He pressed down on the trigger, cutting loose with a spray of blaster fire. One of the fighters were hit and spun out of control before exploding. The other one broke off.

"Thanks General, they almost had me," the pilot said.

"No problem trooper," Anakin said as he went to pursue the fang fighter when he saw that it was retreating towards the fleet.

But then he got an idea.

"Gold 2, fire all of your missiles at me," Anakin ordered.

Artoo beeped in a confused manner.

" _What?!_ " The pilot asked. " _Sir, I can't just shoot you"_.

"Don't worry. Just do it!" Anakin ordered.

Seconds later, every member of Gold squadron fired their proton torpedoes at Anakin's ship. They all followed his ship.

"Artoo, divert all power to the engines," Anakin ordered.

The little blue droid did as he was told but whistled a reply.

Anakin smiled. "My plans aren't crazy. They always work". He gunned the engine and sped towards the Shadow collective fleet. Dozens of torpedoes were following him.

 _"Anakin! What in blazes are you doing?"_ Obi-Wan asked from the bridge of the _Indomitable_.

"Don't worry master. It's all under control." Anakin replied calmly as he accelerated towards the Shadow Collective fleet. Yellow laser fire began to increase. His ship was soon surrounded by flak.

"Anakin, stop what you're doing and get back here," Obi-Wan ordered.

"What was that maser? You're breaking up," Anakin lied as he reached for a button on his control panel.

"Anakin, if you-" Obi-Wan said before he was cut off.

"Thank you mute button," Anakin said before he accelerated towards Maul's fleet.

* * *

"What is that Jedi going?"

That's when Rook Kast noticed that the Jedi fighter was leading the missiles toward a star-fighter carrier that was in the center of the fleet.

"Oh no!"

* * *

Anakin fired his weapons as he did a barrel role, destroying the hanger defenses before he flew in. He fired, destroying several of the Mando fighters on the ground. The explosions caused nearby fuel containers to ignite. The heat seeking torpedoes that were behind him sound something hotter to chase. As Anakin flew towards the other end of the shield on the other side of the hanger, the missiles flew into the balls of fire that were erupting within the ship. A massive wall of fire began to follow Anakin out of the ship. When he flew out of the hanger, the fire spat out of the hanger and every window that was nearby. A massive explosion ripped the sip apart and sent flaming debris in every direction, which struck several other ships, wiping out the smaller ones.

"DWEEEEOOOOOWWWWW!" Artoo screamed as Anakin had several close calls with the exploding ships around him.

"I know, I know," Anakin said as he continued to fly through debris. But he eventually made it out and began to fly back to the fleet. "Hey Artoo? Don't tell Padme what I just did".

Artoo beeped several sounds that showed that he was clearly not happy.

* * *

Obi-Wan and Yularen were watching the whole time.

Obi-wan held his forehead in his palms, trying to suppress a headache.

"Admiral, remind me to tell the clone pilots to never do what Anakin does." The Jedi requested.

"Hmpf! Remind me to get a transfer".

As they made requests to each other, the battle continue outside.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant skyline_.

Back on Coruscant, but far from the main battle raging in orbit and on the ground, the Jedi protecting Palpatine leap from platform to platform through Coruscant's skyscrapers, with several MagnaGuards closely in pursuit. They eventually land on the roof of a building. The magna guards land on the rooftop with them, the force of their landing causing a crater to form beneath them. They then went to attack the Jedi, their staffs spinning and crackling. Shaak Ti and Roron Corobb engage the magna-guards. Two of them ganged up on Shaak Ti. She expertly and swiftly parried each of their blows, making it quite difficult for the droids to penetrate her defenses. She jumped up when one of them swung at her feet and she continued to parry both of their strikes despite constantly having to turn back to face each opponent.

Master Moudama, who was still carrying Palpatine in his arms, ran up and jumped over them to get away from the fight.

Both of Shaak Ti's opponents then crossed both of their blades over her. As soon as they did, she ducked underneath their crossed staffs and dashed away. Master Corobb used the force to push both of them away from each other so that he could run between them.

As all three Jedi, one of them carrying the Chancellor, ran away towards the edge, Grievous was close behind with several guards giving chase.

The three Jedi force jumped off of the edge to the roof of another building. That's when they ran to another edge and jumped off of that one, landing on the roof of a transport, which was flying off in a different direction.

It seemed lie the Jedi were all safe.

Master Corobb sounded out a series of grunts and growls to communicate. _"(Did we lose them?)_ " He asked.

That's when Shaak Ti looked off in the direction they came from to see that they were still being pursued.

"No." She answered.

Two magna guards suddenly landed on the roof of the transport. Masters Ti and Corobb rushed up to engage them. As the two Jedi dueled with the robotic assassins, Master Moudama was still carrying Palpatine in his arms, watching the fight. That's when a third guard landed on the roof directly in front of him. It raised its staff and prepared to strike. But Moudama simply raised his hand and summoned the power of the force to simply throw the guard off of the transport, causing it to plummet to its destruction.

Shaak Ti was still dueling with the droid. She jumped around it, trying to probe its defenses with her saber. But it lashed out every time she got too close. The droid swung its blade at her. She dropped to her knees and leaned back to limbo/slide underneath the swinging and crackling staff. The droid tried again, but she put her sword up to defend herself.

Meanwhile, Master Corobb was dueling with the other droid. Both combatants would launch quick offensive strikes at each other in order to test the others defenses. But every time they attacked, they were forced to lean back into a defensive stance. Both combatants did this back and forth a couple times.

But that's when Separatist reinforcements arrived. Two more guards jumped onto the transport. They were soon followed by General Grievous. But instead of going on the offensive like his guards did, he decided to change the playing field. he swung both of his sword at one of the transport's repulsor-lift engines, causing an explosion. He then swung his swords at the other. With both engines out of commission, the opposing sides felt the transport beginning to lose altitude. The ship began to nose dive towards the streets below. The Jedi and Chancellor all saw a massive billboard in the crashing ship's path. They all jumped off over the side just as the ship crashed through the sign and then slammed into the streets on its side, here it scraped against the ground.

The Jedi flee into a nearby passageway.

Grievous and his guards, who survived the crash, gave chase.

The Jedi came across a subway station. The PA system was asking them for payment in order to receive tickets.

" _Please deposit two Republic credits. Please deposit two Republic credits. Please deposit two Republic credits._ "

The Jedi ignored the PA system. Shaak Ti somersaulted over the ticket venders. Moudama simply ran through them. Corobb cart wheeled over the venders. The droids were close behind. They either ran through the venders or vaulted over. But Grievous was the most aggressive. He swung his blades through the ticket venders to cut through them. He shut the automated voice down as well.

The Jeid entered the subway station itself. There were trains moving back and forth on the tracks, going in several different directions. They began leaping over trains and narrowly avoiding them as Grievous and his guards gave chase.

They split up to divide their pursuers. Grievous went after Moudama, who fought with a saber in one hand while carrying Palpatine with the other. They were dueling right on the tracks. They expertly parried each others attacks. But they couldn't stay. A train sped towards them. Grievous and Moudama split up and jumped onto the platforms as the train passed between them.

Shaak Ti was being pushed back by two guards onto the tracks. She parried their attacks as she moved backwards. She and one of the droids jump out of the tracks onto the same platform as a train speeds through, leaving the other droid she'd been fighting to wait for the train to pass through.

Corobb was in a similar predicament. He had to juggle two guards and avoid the trains. he fought both of them off of him and used the microseconds he had to jump away from them over a passing train. He jumped further away as a another train passed through.

Shaak Ti was fighting the lone droid. They crossed their weapons and continued fighting. But Shaak Ti managed to get into a saber lock with the guard. She used her physical strength to push him back, before she disengaged and force dashed away just in time for a train to pass through and separate them again.

Moudama continued to hold Palpatine as he ran away from the guards while parrying them at the same time. He continued to jump away as the trains passed through.

Meanwhile, Shaak Ti began to leap ver the trains to get away from a pursuing guard. She eventually landed on a platform and turned to confront the guard. He swung his staff at her. She blocked with her blade and force dashed away. But she stopped herself just as a train passed through. It swept right passed her, barely an inch away from her body. The guard tried to push her into the speeding train, but she blocked it and began to fight back. They continued to duel between the passing trains. But the guard made a fatal mistake. He thrust the staff forward, allowing Shaak Ti to swiftly get underneath her defenses. She lashed out at him, severing his arm at the shoulder. Then she cut off its leg, torso, and head in three successive swings. The severed parts of its body fell into a pile at her feet. She breathed a sigh of relief. But that's when the trains disappeared, revealing the guard she avoided earlier. They tensed up when they saw each other. Shaak Ti used the force to throw the pieces of the dead guard at him. He spun his staff like a prop and deflected all of the pieces. He charged at her. But she waited for a moment before she used the force to push the droid back into a train just as it was passing through.

While Shaak Ti was finishing up, Master Corobb was fighting off two of the guards at once. He parried their blows and jumped into the air to avoid their strikes, before he force dashed midair in order to jump on the roof of a speeding train. He rode it and crouched on the side until he came to his destination. He could see poor master Moudama dueling with a guard one-handed while holding Palpatine. Corobb jumped off and used his momentum to speed towards the guard. Moudama saw what was happening and disengaged the guard. The guard turned just intake to see Corobb right on top of him. He growled very loudly as he swung his blade, and in one strike, the droid was slashed into four pieces.

Palpatine and Moudama looked at the droid that Corobb just killed.

Moudama looked at Corobb and produced a series of high-pitched chirps and buzzes to compliment Corobb.

"Yes, brilliant job," Palpatine agreed. "Master Yoda would be-"

But he was interrupted by Shaak Ti, who jumped down from seemingly out of no where.

"We have to leave," she said.

After she said this, the train disappeared, revealing General Grievous on the other side. They all recoiled and tensed up when they saw Grievous. The three Jedi activated their blue lightsabers and began to withdraw deeper into the station, with the Chancellor backing up while behind them. The cyborg general pressed the attack and began to swing his blades at the Jedi. Corobb and Moudama blocked every strike that Grievous made.

He continued to back the Jedi into a tunnel. When he was close enough, Grievous stood on one leg and swiftly pushed both Moudama and Corobb back with two successive kicks, knocking them to the ground.

Grievous backed Shaak Ti and Palpatine against a wall.

"And so it ends. A valiant effort, but ... ultimately futile," Grievous said.

But as he spoke, Palpatine noticed that Grievous' cape was being wrapped around a pipe on a train's carriage by an invisible force.

"Now Jedi, prepare yourself. For you are about to leave this world," Grievous finished.

Shaak Ti scowled at Grievous. "I don't think so," she said defiantly.

Suddenly, a red light next to the train control blinked green. A confused Grievous was suddenly yanked away when the train powered up and took off down the tracks.

The togrutan council member breathed a sigh of relief.

"Excellent work Master Jedi," Palpatine complimented.

Moudama and Corobb both got back up to see that the coast was clear and that everyone was alright.

"Hurry," Shaak Ti said before she ran off. Palpaine and the two other Jedi followed her to a nearby window that overlooked the city skyline. The togrutan jedi used the force to shatter a nearby window and make their escape. She force jumped out of the window. Corobb was next, followed by Moudama, who went back to carrying Palpatine. The three Jedi and their precious cargo sailed through the air as they continued to escape the war that was hot on their heels. But unbeknownst to them, they were being watched closely by two surviving magna guards, who reported their movements to their master.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Nite Owl camp on mountain range, Concordia_.

"Fall Back! Move! Move! Move!"

Ahsoka and her Nite Owl companions, Dred Priest and Ordo Skirata, continued to beat feet up the hill as Maul's forces continued to advance. Heavy rain fall was hammering the area, but the other storm was much worse. An army raining down bombs, mortars, and blaster bolts all over the hills on which the Nite Owl's camp was sprawled out on. Every time Maul's forces began to hammer their positions with artillery and infantry, Ahsoka and her companions retreated, giving the enemy more ground from which to hammer their positions. But it was also another meant that they were being led to another area that they had to fight and die for.

Ahsoka and her comrades ran out from an underground trench system and made it to the Nite Owl's western flank, which was a line of trenches that sat on the edge of a ridgeline that overlooked the valley below. They saw more and more Concordian soldiers and militiamen, which were like the Sun'dari riot guards but with blue and silver armor. The Supercommandoes that were on the planet were mostly up in the sky, dogfighting with the Shadow Collective supercommandoes.

"Alright, we made it. Bo-Katan sent us a pair of artillery spotters. They're on the northern ridge on our western flank!" Ordo said.

Ahsoka and the others ran through a the trenches that ran along the ridge-line. The line was dotted with occasional bunkers, which were used as spotting positions. They happened upon a Concordian soldier, who was wearing a backpack. Ahsoka noticed that it was an OmniNode communications set. The set was capable of transmitting to orbiting starships even during harsh weather and could manage twenty different signals at one time.

He saluted.

"Specialist Naart Baron, Concordian 4th artillery reserve corps, reporting for duty," he said. He hooked his thumb over his shoulder at the female soldier behind him. This is Private Jhen Cryrhagh".

She nodded.

"We're here to call in artillery support," he said.

"Well then what are you waiting for? Start dropping some artillery on those bastards. We'll cover you," Ordo said. As they set up their equipment, he turned to Ahsoka and Dred. "Come on. let's give these two some cover".

They nodded and lined up along the trenches to fire over them and down on the valley below. Hundreds of Shadow Collective soldiers were flooding the valley. Mandalorian tanks, APCs, and infantry were assaulting the ridge.

Ahsoka, Dred, and Ordo lined up and began to fire on the advancing infantry. They fell in droves as they tried to advance on the steep hills. Meanwhile, the two artillery spotters were going their jobs. The spotter located targets before she gave their co-ordinates to the comm-expert before he transmitted the co-ordinates to the artillery guners miles from their location.

"Get some fire on those guys!" Baron yelled into his comm set.

A few seconds later, several loud booms echoes out over the hills before several explosions erupted around the target. The tank went up in an explosion, which enveloped several of the soldiers around it. Jhen continued to spot for Baron, who continued to call in the artillery. Two more tanks were wiped out along with their infantry escorts.

"Alright, just off that paved road at mark-," but then Jhen froze. Ahsoka knew what it was too. The sound of maul's forces firing back with a counter-barrage. "INCOMING!"

Jhen and Baron tried to get out of the bunker, but it exploded. The roof caved in, crushing its occupants. All that was left was the comm trooper. But he was dead.

"Ah Stang!" Ordo ran up and tried to check is vitals. When he found that he didn't have any, he tried to pull Baron's body out nonetheless. "Ahsoka. Give me a hand".

Ahsoka reached out and used the force, lifting the debris enough for Ordo to pull out Baron's body.

"What are you doing?" She asked. "He's already gone".

"But we need that artillery. And I think that I can salvage his communications equipment. You and Dred cover me," he said as he began to relieve Baron's corpse of his comm gear.

Ahsoka went back and began to fire her DC-15 down at the enemy. She wasn't a very good shot, as most of her rounds went wide. But once in a while she got lucky, killing several Maul troopers who were unlucky enough to be downed by Ahsoka's luck.

But as Ahsoka missed most of her marks, Dred was having no problems whatsoever. He was an expert marksman. He was trained from the moment he was strong enough to lift a rifle to fire it. Many Maul troopers went down to his expert marksmanship. One Maul trooper was trying to load up a rocket launcher. He sighted up on him and fired a blaster bolt at him. He was hit straight through the head. But he pulled the trigger on his launcher. He fired a rocket into the ground. It stuck in the ground for a couple seconds before it detonated, vaporizing him and blasting his comrades into several different directions. He smiled and continued his dirty work.

"Alright, I got the comm gear," Ordo said. "Now all I need is a spotter." That's when he looked Ahsoka up and down. Then an idea smashed its way into his brain. "Ahsoka! You're a togrutan!"

Ahsoka looked at him with a dumbstruck look on her face.

"Wha-you didn't ..." She slapped her forehead. Then she looked up to scold him. "Thanks for noticing. Now what's your point?"

"You have better eyesight. And with your predatory abilities, you can focus better on those tanks," Ordo said.

Ahsoka thought about it for a second. Then she decided to give it a go.

"Alright. I'll do it. She took her holo-map projector and began to look at the tanks below her, trying to find out where they lined up on the map. She began to point them out. "On the dirt road, mark M504."

Ordo called them in and seconds later, artillery began to drop right where the tank was traveling. It drove straight into the explosions and exploded. Ahsoka spotted several more tanks, and put her predatory skills to the test.

"Mark T327," she said.

More booms rumbled in the distance before arcs of laser fire slammed down into the valley, taking out tanks and infantry alike. She sighted a pair of tanks that stopped right next to each other. She decided to report them.

"Mark O103," she reported.

Ordo called it in.

Seconds later, more artillery fell on that spot, between the two tanks. Both of them exploded.

"Got 'em!" Dred called out.

"Nice work Tano!" Ordo complimented.

Ahsoka smiled and nodded. That's when she heard the sound again.

"INCOMING!" She called out as she used the force to push Dred, Ordo, and a couple others out of the bunker before she dove out herself.

A laser bolt fell directly on the bunker roof, blasting it apart. Ahsoka felt her head start to spin. She could hear screaming coming from the wounded. That's when she saw more of Maul's troopers in the trenches. Concordian soldiers, militiamen, and Nite Owls were being executed left and right.

"More tanks and infantry! They're at the base of the hill. They're about to overrun the trenches!" Dred called out as he switched his rifle into a rapid fire mode and began to rapidly cut down several Maul troopers that began to charge up the hill.

"We can't do this on our own. Fall Back!" Ahsoka called out.

Ahsoka and the remaining troopers began to retreat away from the ridge line.

"Work your way back up the hill!" Ordo called out. Everyone began to run up the hill under heavy fire.

"Retreat!"

"Up the hill!"

Ahsoka and the remaining Mandos happened upon a laser gate, which was set up by the Nite Owls to crate a choke point. But it was unmanned. Meaning that they were trapped.

"I'll try to get this gate open. Cover me!" Dred called out.

Ahsoka and the others held their position at the top of a hill and began to fire down on the advancing Shadow Collective forces as Dred worked on slicing the shield gate controls. Ahsoka saw a repeating blaster turret. She manned it and began to fire on any Maul trooper that came over the top of the ridge. Several enemy soldiers either piled up on the top of the stairs, or they tumbled back down the slope to trip several other advancing Maul troopers. But the Nite Owls and their allies were being overrun.

"Fall back to the secondary positions!" Ordo called out.

Ahsoka and the others abandoned their positions. But before Ahsoka ran, she used the force to lift the turret and seat she was using, and threw it at a group of Maul troopers. Several of them were pushed back down the ridge. Suddenly, Bo-Katan and several over her airborne warriors flew by and launched a volley of missiles at the advancing enemy troopers, wiping out a few of them.

"Get through the shield and retreat!" Kryze ordered.

Ahsoka and the others retreated though the laser gate that Dred managed to disable. When they were through it, they began to retreat. But not before Dred blasted the shield controls with his pistol. The shield reactivated, but not before several Maul troopers tried to run through and were vaporized.

They kept running until they were further up the hill. They came upon the center of the main camp. Buildings were blasted open and medical tents at the aid station were being flooded with wounded warriors. Gunners and snipers kept the main paths into the camp safe from invaders. Able bodied warriors, including walking wounded were manning several defensive positions. But they wouldn't hold for long.

Ahsoka heard a rocket pack roar in her direction.

It was Bo-Katan Kryze.

"So Tano ... where are the rest of your comrades?" She asked in testy manner.

"Don't worry. You'll start seeing gunships soon enough," Ahsoka reassured.

But Bo-Katan was less than amused. She continued to look at Ahsoka with a cold look sprawled across her face.

"I'll hold you to that," she said before she jetted off into the sky. Her airborne warriors followed suit.

Ahsoka then looked up at the sky. She could barely make out Triangle shapes and small yellow and blue dots flashing in the sky. She spoke to herself.

 _"Come on Skyguy, you're our only hope_ ".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **That's part 14 everyone.**

 **Part 15'll be right around the corner.**

 **And please-** **Feel free to leave your thoughts down in the review section if you wish. Just keep the criticism constructive is all I ask.**


	15. Chapter 15-Welcoming Committee

**Have no Fear, Grubkiller is here.**

 **Because of this chapter, i've broken my own personal record for most words in a story. My biggest was Rebelling against Defeat (AU1) with 96,000 words. This on is over 104,000 and is just getting started.**

 **Here's part 15 everyone. This is the last chapter before i move on the the section that focuses on ROTS/Siege of Mandalore.**

 **So please, do Enjoy this newest chapter.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Sector 4, Coruscant_.

Back on Coruscant, at the heart of the Galactic Republic, a massive battle was still raging hard.

Warships hammered away at each other from close range in orbit and below the atmosphere. Chunks were blasted off of warships from either side. Those chunks then crashed into the surface below, sometimes crashing into a skyscraper.

Fighters continued to swoop and zig-zag around the buildings, trying to paint the opposing fighters with a fresh coat of plasma.

On the ground, Clone and Droid forces continued to fight each other for every blood-stained inch of the planet's metal surface. Captain Fordo and his men were standing on the foundation of a large statue of a Senate guardsman. They fired on the tidal of droids that advanced around them. He continued to fire his DC-15a one handed while firing his sidearm with the other. He jumped off of the statue's pedestal and began to lead his troopers against the Droid army.

They advanced under heavy fire. Troopers armed with rotary guns and sniper rifles kept the enemy suppressed, while the regular troopers charged forward with Captain Fordo at the lead.

Separatist AAT tanks took up positions in front of the droid army in order to blunt the Republic's counterattack. But Republic AT-TEs began to advance on their 6 legs to meet them, firing their heavy cannons as they went. One tank fired its powerful main cannon at the lead AAT tank. It exploded and caused a second tank to flip over and burn. Dozens of droids were wiped out by the explosion.

"Forward!" Fordo shouted as his men began to charge into the explosion and melee with the Droid Army. "Keep up the pressure on the right!"

One clone ran up to him.

"But sir, what about our left flank?"

Fordo looked off in another direction. He was looking at an area where he didn't have any troopers.

"The Jedi have the left".

* * *

Mace Windu continued to charge through the Droid army. He used the force to toss dozens of SBDs back into the air. When he had a path right into the droid center, he rushed in and activated his lightsaber. The droids turned inwards to face him. That's when they advanced. Exactly what Windu wanted. He twirled his saber around him and swung it gracefully through the droids that got too close to him. They were sliced apart and utterly destroyed.

Nearby, another group of SBDs were having trouble. A Kybuck jumped down onto one droid and stomped it into the ground, crushing it into several pieces. The other droids turned to try and subdue it, but the little green creature riding it was just slicing them apart with his green shoto-saber. The kybuck continued to ram through several droids, allowing his master to cut more of them apart. One droid aimed its wrist blaster at the jedi and began to fire away rapidly. The Jedi deflected all of them before his kybuck rammed its antlers into the droids torso, breaking it apart.

Yoda looked off in the distance and saw a few dozen 'Octuptarra' droids clambering on the walls of skyscrapers and filing the streets.

These weren't the large ones that smashed through entire clone defenses. These were smaller ones that were meant to flood an area and act as infantry support. They used their laser beams to fire on the nearby clone forces and give their allies a chance to advance.

Yoda leaned in close to his animal's ear. He placed his hands on his head to commune with him with the force.

"Go now. No longer safe for you it is," Yoda said.

As if understanding its master, the kybuck ran off, leaving the battlefield behind. But Yoda jumped off of its back and began to charge at the droids. He flipped and jumped between them, using his blade to cut through their skinny bodies.

Mace Windu saw what was going on. He was dealing with the SBDs that Yoda left for him. He rapidly deflected their laser bolts. One octuptarra, who was on the side of a building, saw Windu. It turned one of its laser beams to fire on Windu. The laser beam moved towards Windu. But he managed to raise his blade to defend himself. The beam deflected off of Windu's saber and hit the building. Mace was about to deflect the blade back at the droid. But then he looked at the rest of them that were on the ground. He carefully adjusted his blade so that he could angle the beam at the droids without getting hit himself. He redirected the beam into the droids in the streets, cutting through every last one of them. When they all exploded, he redirected the beam at its source, killing the droid.

When that was done, Yoda jumped next to Windu so that they stood back to back. They began to swiftly twirl their sabers, deflecting dozens of rounds that came their way.

A wall of fire surrounded the battling Jedi.

But something was strange.

Both Masters could feel it.

"Strange is the enemy's strategy," Yoda said as he continued to deflect shot after shot.

"A massive invasion. But no attempt to take the Temple or Senate," Windu added on as he deflected blaster rounds as well.

"Unless, an elaborate distraction..." Yoda said.

"...To hide their primary objective," Windu finished.

Then it hit them. They both froze.

They turned and faced each other.

"Palpatine!" They concluded at the same time.

Windu looked up and noticed a squadron of gunships flying overhead. They fired a volley of missiles on the Separatist forces in an attempt to drive them out of the sector. But Windu decided that it was time to catch a ride. He jumped towards an overflying Republic gunship before he landed inside of the passenger bay, surrounded by dumbstruck clone troopers.

"General Windu!?" The clone sergeant exclaimed.

But the master ignored him for a second.

"Pilot! Turn this ship around!" He ordered.

"Yes sir," the pilot obeyed before he turned the ship into a 180 degree turn, taking Windu on his mission to find Palpatine.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Tunnel that leads to Chancellor's underground bunker_.

Underneath Coruscant's surface lied a circular tunnel that led to an underground bunker. In it were three Jedi, who were escorting Chancellor Palpatine to a hover capsule that would take the straight there. Their footfalls echoed through the tunnel as they ran through the otherwise quiet and empty tunnel.

Master Corobb was leading the way, with Moudama right behind him carrying Palpatine in his massive furry arms. Shaak Ti was bringing up the rear.

When they were within eyesight of the capsule, Moudama set Palpatine down, allowing him to move on his own. Corobb reached the pod first, but stayed outside to place his hand on Palpatine's shoulder and lead him into the pod. When Palpatine was almost inside the pod, Masters Corobb and Moudama were stepping onto the ramp.

That's when Shaak Ti spoke up.

"Get inside. Get to the bunker," she encouraged.

Palpatine and the other two Jedi noticed that she wasn't on the ramp.

"My dear, what about you?" The Chancellor asked with 'concern'.

"I will stay..." she said as she turned her head over her shoulder to look down the tunnel in the opposite direction. "...and hold them off".

"But we don't know for sure if they're still following," Palpatine reasoned.

"Make no mistake. They _are_ coming," she said assertively as she looked back down the unsettlingly dark, quiet, and empty tunnel. The only sounds that they could hear were the hums of machinery, and a hissing noise from far away.

She turned back and placed her hands on her fellow Jedi's shoulders.

"Protect the Chancellor," she said as she looked into their sad faces, realizing that it might be the last time she'd ever see them.

Moudama placed his hand on her arm before he began to emit a series of chirps and squeaks. _'May the force be with you Master Ti'_ , he said.

"And you," she said.

"This selfless sacrifice will be long remembered in the archives of the Jedi Order," the Chancellor said before he stepped into the hover capsule.

Masters Corobb and Moudama both stepped into the cop. When they were inside, the ramp was pulled into the pod and the rear hatch closed. When it did, the pod powered up and zipped down the tunnel until it was out of sight, leaving Shaak Ti to face whatever would come her way.

She continued to stare down the tunnel. The only sounds that she could hear was the humming of the machinery built into the tunnel around her. But she knew that something was wrong. She grabbed her lightsaber from out of her robes and placed her finger on the activation button, without pressing it.

Shaak Ti continued to listen very closely with her Lekku. Her head tails had the ability of echolocation, which gave her biological radar, and allowing her to hear and feel things that other species could only dream of. But all she could hear was the humming around her.

But then she started to hear something else. It sounded like tapping. The tapping was very feint, but it was also rhythmic in its sound, and became louder and louder with each passing second. She scowled in the direction that it was coming from, ready to strike. Then, in the darkness ahead, dozens of red lights moved closer and closer to her. The red lights at seemed to stare at her. Then she saw humanoid silhouettes coming out of the darkness. Shaak Ti eventually saw that they were Grievous' Magnaguards. She had seen several of them today, but she was never alone. But that didn't matter. She held her lightsaber hilt. When she activated it, the blue blade extended in front of her scowling face, and cast a blue light that mad the dark tunnel glow.

It was time to fight.

No retreat.

No surrender.

No Mercy.

It was just her and an army of droid assassins.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _RSD Indomitable, In orbit above Concordia_.

The battle for control of Concordia's orbit was getting more and more vicious. The 12 Republic Star-Destoryers had suffered low to moderate damage, but they also lost a good portion of their pilots and star craft to the high quality Mandalorian fighters and pilots. The Republic also lost a couple light cruisers and some frigates. The supply transports also took some damage.

But the Shadow Collective suffered even higher casualties. Their ships were nothing but burning wreckages. A debris field was all that remained of Maul's attack force. But Maul still had quite a few ships waiting in reserve. They were about to launch a full scale attack to drive the Republic out of the system.

Anakin and Rex stood in the passenger bay of a gunship. It was the lead gunship of large task force that was about to deploy the 501st Legion to the surface.

"All of our forces are ready General. We are awaiting your word," Rex said.

The _'Hero with no Fear'_ reached for his com-link and prepared to speak into it.

"Master. We're ready to deploy to the surface. We're gonna help the Nite Owls and secure ourselves a base on the surface," Anakin said.

Anakin could hear shouting orders in the background.

" _Fire all forward batteries!"_

 _"Shields down 36%!"_

 _"Another cruiser's been hit!_ "

Amidst the chaos in the background, Obi-Wan finally responded.

" _Copy Anakin. Get to the surface. Find the Nite Owl base and help them,_ " Obi-Wan said.

"Yes Master," Anakin said. He shut his com-link down and turned to Rex. "Let's go Rex".

Rex nodded and reached for his com-link. "Right away sir". The Veteran trooper was contacting the pilot to take off.

A few seconds later, the Gunships took off and flew out of the open hanger. When they exited the ships, they saw that the Battle has back in full swing. Maul's reinforcements had arrived. They were pushing towards the Republic fleet, hoping to smash their way through to Concordia. Anakin noticed that two Republic Star-Destroyers were dead in the water, burning from stem to stern. One of them suddenly exploded, the shockwave sending chunks of the Star-Destroyer in every direction. One chunk smashed through a Mandalorian cruiser that was too close and had been firing on the Star-Destroyer. But even though it seemed that the Republic fleet was struggling, the Shadow Collective forces were suffering heavy losses as well. They had more ships, but they had lesser armor and armaments. Maul's cruisers that were closest to Ob-Wan's ship served as a magnet for blue laser fire. They all suddenly began to explode one by one.

Shadow Collective fighters streaked by and strafed the Republic warships. But they also had to contend with the more numerous Republic fighters. Maul had better fighters and pilots. But he had too few of them to make an ultimate difference in the battle. Sure more Republic fighters were destroyed. But they could afford to lose them in comparison to Maul.

Anakin's gunship flew out of the cruiser in front of several dozen gunships and their fighter escorts. They began to turn towards the planet, carrying infantry, supplies, and even AT-TE tanks.

Shadow Collective fighters zoomed by and fired on the Gunships. Three of them went up in fiery explosions. The clones inside the ship grabbed onto the hand rails as they braced themselves for a seriously bumpy ride to the surface.

"Rex!" Anakin shouted.

"I'm on it". Rex said before he spoke into his com-link. "Alright, all turret gunners, swat those bastards out of the sky!"

The gunship's side door ball turrets fired their laser beams at the fighters. The Mando fighters did everything that they could to avoid them. But with every gunship firing on them, they were busted out of the sky and forced to pull away. Leaving Anakin and his forces to head for the planet below.

"Alright everyone listen up," Anakin said before he turned this men. "We're here to help the Nite Owls reclaim their home-world. They're set up on the moon below us. We're going to give them support and drive off Maul's forces before we set up a base. From there, we are going to co-ordinate with the Nite Owls for our assault on Mandalore, and overthrow Maul's regime."

"Why are we in this system sir?" ARC Trooper Jesse asked.

"We're hear because Maul is building WMDs, which he plans to use against both the Republic and Confederate capital worlds. In the ensuing chaos, he hopes to take over the galaxy," Anakin said.

"Fat chance of that happening. Right boys?" Hardcase called out.

The others began to chuckle.

"If you do your jobs right then it will be," Rex said.

"Rex is right," Anakin said.

"How do we know about all this Sir?" Lieutenant Appo asked.

"We've been giving the Nite Owls weapons and supplies in exchange for intel for a few months now. We also know it because..." Anakin sighed. "...because Ahsoka is down on the surface right now".

Everyone in the gunship looked at Anakin and Rex with dumbstruck looks on their faces.

"What?!" Tup exclaimed.

"The Commander's down there?" Kix asked.

"What's she doing here?" Someone else asked.

Everyone in the 501st was sad to hear that Ahsoka was kicked out of the order and wouldn't be returning. They were almost heartbroken. To hear that Ahsoka was back was somewhat shocking.

"We'll worry about that later. Right now, we've got a job to do," Anakin said somewhat dismissively.

But deep down, he was the one who was really shocked. He thought that he'd never see or hear from her again. And here she is in the middle of a war-zone. How she ended up in the middle of all this, he'd have to ask her when he next saw her.

The gunships continued towards the surface.

" _Everyone listen up. We're coming up on our landing zone soon. ETA 90 seconds"_. The Gunship pilot called out over the intercom.

Seconds later, they broke through the cloud cover of the dusk sky. They could see the landing zone. But they also saw something else. Everyone looked out openings in the side hatch of the gunship in shock.

"Oh Scray!" One clone exclaimed.

"You've gotta be kidding me, that's the LZ!?" Tup asked.

The mountain that the Nite Owl camp was situated atop of was surrounded by Maul's forces. Shadow Collective tanks blasted away at the defenses on the mountain. Raging fires belched smoke up into the air. Gauntlet bombers flew towards the mountain and dropped their payload onto the mountain. Fang fighters were fighting desperately to drive off the more numerous Shadow Collective.

"Don't know! could be fun!" Hardcase said before he chuckled.

"Stow it troopers! Lock and load your weapons and be ready to come out swinging!" Rex ordered.

"SIR YES SIR!" They all shouted in unison.

The ARC-170s that were flying with the gunships broke off and headed for the base of the hill. They dropped their bombs on several tanks that were bombarding the hill. They exploded, killing several of the infantry around them.

"Red light, stand by," The crew chief said as the red stand by light flooded the passenger bay.

Everyone prepped their weapons and made ready to pour out of the ship.

The gunships flew closer and closer to the mountain range.

"Welcome to paradise rock jumpers!" Lt. Hawk joked as he prepared to land the ships.

The red light turned green as the ship landed.

"Green light," the crew chief said before the hatch opened. "GO! GO! GO!"

Anakin activated his lightsaber and jumped out of the gunship in front of his men and landed in the middle of the battle.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Underground shuttle en route to Chancellor's underground bunker_.

In the tunnel that seemed to go on for miles, a hover capsule zoomed through it. It was carrying Chancellor Palpatine and his two Jedi escorts, a Talz named Foul Moudama and an Ithorian named Roron Corobb. Palpatine sat in one of the passenger seats while Moudama sat at the pilot seat. Corobb stood up, ready to spring into action should the need arise. As they flew sped down the tunnel, light flashed onto their faces as they passed through.

They were on their way to a secret bunker deep underground. But behind them, their pursuers were ever persistent. Which was why a member of their party had stayed behind.

* * *

In a different part of the tunnel, Shaak Ti was fighting for her life.

She jumped down from the ceiling and into the middle of a platoon of Magna-guards, who immediately surrounded her. Four guards spun their staffs around as they rushed up to attack her. Shaak Ti expertly swung and twirled her lightsaber to parry their attacks. When she saw an opening, she force dashed through their gap and ran up the side of the tunnel and ran in a spiral direction around the tunnel. She then jumped to the opposite side of the tube and began to run away from the guards, who gave chase.

As she ran, Shaak Ti parried their relentless strikes. She stopped to duel with the front pair of droids. As she fought them, some of them ran on the side of the tunnel to try and flank her. One droid jumped off of the wall above her and lifted his staff over his head, ready to bring it down on hers. But she sensed the attack and dashed back. The droid slammed his staff onto the ground, the electricity crackling outward.

Shaak Ti continued to run down the tunnel again. And again, the droids gave chase. Fir a moment, she was able to outrun them. Except for one. He attacked a dueled her. But Shaak Ti parried the droid's strikes and used the pause in his attack to summon a force push that sent him back. But the droid's actions succeeded in allowing his counterparts to catch up and surround her. Before she could raise her blade to defend herself, another droid swung his staff down and struck her hand.

"GAHHH!" She screamed in pain as electricity coarsed through her hand and forced her to drop her lightsaber. Her lightsaber rolled away and disappeared underneath the wave of droids. They ganged up on the mostly defenseless Jedi and began to thrust and swing their staffs at her. She leaned back and avoided one staff. But then she was shocked by someone from behind. She raised her arms to block the staffs. She succeeded in keeping them from hitting her body, but her arms were being shocked. The pain was intolerable. But she kept resisting, blocking with her arms and making sure to stay light on her feet as she avoided the others.

Despite her admirable resilience, she had to get out of her disadvantaged position, and fast.

But then, in an act of providence, one droids lunged forward. But he lunged forward too far. She ducked underneath his attack and kept behind his back. He turned around to try and attack her, but Shaak Ti refused to leave his back. Every time he swung his staff, the droid just ended up hitting the staffs of the droids around them. The other droids tried to help him by thrusting their staffs as well, but they only hit the droid's staff.

Meanwhile, Shaak Ti was still behind him. Taking advantage of the droid's laughable failure to subdue her, she jumped onto his back. She flipped over his head and got between him and his staff. She pushed him away with the force, causing him to toss the staff up in the air. She reached up and caught it. She twirled it around between both of her hands, its electric ends crackling as she did so.

The lightsaber-less Jedi was now armed.

And it was payback time.

Shaak Ti jumped up and raised the staff. As she jumped over a magna-guard's head, she thrust her staff into his head, making it disappear before the staff sent electricity coursing through its torso. The droid shut down and slumped to the ground in a lifeless heap. She landed in the middle of the droid group again. But before they could attack, she jumped up again, thrusting her staff into another droid's head. When she jumped back down, she swept her staff under their feet, tripping several droids. She pounced forward onto one droid that she floored and plunged her staff into its head. When the droids tried to rush her all at once, she got back up, turned around, and flipped into the air over all of them. They turned to attack her, but she blocked. She aimed her staff at one droid very carefully and thrust it into the red photo-receptor on its torso with deadly precision.

Another droid went to attack her. She parried his blows and managed to get her staff underneath his. She swung her staff upward and knocked his staff away. When the droid was defenseless, Shaak Ti jumped forward before she drove her knee straight through its head.

It wasn't over yet.

There were still over a dozen droids who had yet to feel her fury.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Nite Owl main camp, mountain range, Concordia's surface_.

Back on the Concordian mountain range, where the largest Nite Owl base in the Mandalorian system was sprawled out, Shadow Collective forces continued to flood the area. Tanks and infantry slowly moved up the hill. Fighters from both sides fought for control of the mountain's airspace. Laser bolts from anti-aircraft guns fired up into the air, occasionally shooting down each others fighters. Trenches were overrun, forcing the Nite Owls and their allies to do one of two things: die in the trenches, or run to die someplace else later (preferably in a bed due to old age).

Explosions continued to blossom all over the mountain range.

Ahsoka Tano and her Mandarloian companions were moving through the aid station on top of the hill at the center of the main camp, which was filled with burned out buildings and wounded troopers. There were even dead ones waiting to be buried.

"Tano! Kryze wants us at the rear of the camp to start providing cover for your Republic friends! Let's go!" Ordo Skirata called out.

Ahsoka nodded. "Right behind you," she said before she and Dred Priest followed him through the aid station. They went through the base and moved through the command center. Bo-Katan was looking over a holo-table with her inner circle. She tore herself way from the table and grabbed a couple dozen warriors to go with Ahsoka and her two companions.

"Let's go. The Republic could be here any minute. We need to give them some support," she said.

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Dred Priest asked.

"Maul's boys've set up several anti-aircraft batteries a few miles from the base of the mountain range," one of Bo's men said. "We're gonna blow 'em up and give the Republic a clear path to their LZ".

"Alright, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Ahsoka said. She ran off through the command center and out to the other side. There were several trenches, towers, and bunkers that were on the north side of the camp, overlooking a different part of the valley. One in which the Shadow Collective also controlled. More tanks and infantry were inbound under artillery support from that direction.

Ahsoka, Bo-Katan, Ordo, Dred, and about 20 warriors took up their positions. Behind them was the command center and six artillery pieces. Their gun crews loaded shells into the breeches and aimed the cannons in the general direction of Maul's northern force.

"We need artillery!" Kryze shouted. "Tano! Spot targets with Skirata!"

Ahsoka nodded and crouched down next to Skirata. She looked out over the valley with a pair of small micro-binoculars. She scanned the valley and found the AA positions in question.

Ahsoka put the binoculars down and looked at a holo-map. She looked at the general direction that the targets were in.

"I'm gonna need some targets Tano!" Skirata pressed.

"Okay! I've spotted three targets. Map positions are G448, J291, and C075!" She called out.

Skirata nodded and relayed the co-ordinates to the artillery positions. As he did this, Bo-Katan and her people began to open fire on the infantry that were far out. Dred Priest aimed his sniper rifle down range and began to drop enemy soldiers like flies.

That's when the artillery commander's voice came in over Skirata's comm set.

 _"Fire mission received, artillery outbound!_ "

The six cannons aimed at three different targets. Two guns per target. A soldier gave a hand signal and fire suddenly exploded out of the barrels of each cannon, sending balls of yellow plasma down range. Ahsoka waited in anticipation and watched three AA guns get blasted up into the air in a fiery explosion that sent burning shrapnel in every direction.

"YEAH, You got 'em!" Priest shouted.

"Nice work Tano!" Skirata said.

"Without those guns, the Republic fleet should have a clear path right to us,' Ahsoka said.

"Let's hope they get here before-*Kryze froze*-INCOMING!" Bo-Katan shouted.

A flight of Shadow Collective Gauntlet bombers swooped in and dropped their payload on top of the mountain range. Everyone took cover as a carpet of powerful explosions ripped through the Nite Owl camp. Fortifications were torn up, the remaining buildings were blasted open, and bodies were sent flying everywhere like rag dolls. The six artillery pieces were blown apart, their ammunition igniting to cause an even deadlier explosion that ripped through the very center of the Nite Owl camp.

Ahsoka's head tails were ringing and her vision was blurry. When she came too, she saw a lifeless Ordo Skirata staring right at him. She recoiled in surprise when she saw that he had a large piece of debris thrust into his backpack comm set, which also impaled him though his armor.

She tore herself away from Ordo's corpse to see the survivors clambering to their feet.

Dred Priest groaned in pain as a medic applied bandages to his leg. But he kept his rifle next to him.

"Tano! Call in your Jedi friends. We need reinforcements!" Bo-Katan called out.

"Comm-set's destroyed! We've no more support!" Ahsoka called back.

Bo-Katan looked around and saw that she only had about 10 more warriors left in this particular part of the camp. The surviving defenders were too badly beaten and scattered all across the mountain range to mount a successful defense. Her warriors looked to her for guidance. They looked beaten and exhausted.

But her resolve was as strong as ever, so she decided to spread it out to her men.

"We will not lose this base! Keep fighting down the mountain! For Mandalore!" She called to her remaining warriors.

"FOR MANDALORE!"

Everyone gathered in what was left of the trenches and gathered up whatever weapons they could find in order to make a final stand.

That's when they saw a large wall of smoke forming in front of Maul's forces. They were concealing their own movements. A large battle cry rang out across the mountain before Maul's forces charged out of the smoke to overrun what was left of the Nite Owl base. As they poured out of the smoke, the Nite owls began to fire on the charging Maul troopers. They began to fall in droves.

Ahsoka found a repeating blaster cannon with one last power pack. She began to fire it into the massive wall of smoke. More and more Maul troopers fell to her and the Nite Owl's combined efforts.

That's when a large hover tank came out of the smoke and began to fire its cannon. Every time it fired a Nite Owl trooper, or a piece of cover, disappeared.

"They're blasting away at our cover!" Kryze shouted.

"Somebody target that tank!" Dred Priest shouted as he sat down, propped himself up, and tried to pick off as many Maul troopers as possible.

Ahsoka ran out of ammo for her repeating blaster.

That's when she saw a Nite Owl warrior in a nearby bunker get speared through his neck by a blaster bolt. She then looked past him and saw a crate. She crawled over to it through the trenches, making sure to keep her head down to avoid getting her head blasted off. When she reached it, she opened it and saw that it was filled to the brim with thermal detonators.

She had an idea. Ahsoka grabbed a pair of detonators before she summoned as much power as she could to force jump into the air, over the advancing Maul troopers and onto the tank. She surprised the tank gunner, who cursed and tried to reach for a sidearm. Thinking quickly, she used the force to lift him out of the tank and throw him as far away as she could. Ahsoka then threw both grenades down the hatch, closed it, and jumped away just as she heard screams coming from inside the tank. As soon as she landed, the tank hatch was blasted open, before black smoke began to pour out of every opening the tank had. It's repulser lifts were knocked out, causing the tank to hit the ground with a loud clang.

Ahsoka began to breath heavily. She looked back and saw that she had destroyed the tank. But more infantry, supported by armored vehicles, were moving up the hill.

"Where in the Hell is the Republic!" Someone called out.

"Just keep fighting!" Another warrior shouted.

Ahsoka was out of breath. Her head was pounding, and her muscles were aching. She leaned against the wall of the trench that she was in. But she knew that she had to keep going. She had to fight if she wanted to see her loved ones again.

she reached for the grenades in the box next to her and just started lobbing them over the top of the trench.

 _What if this was it? What if she'd never see Lux again? And even her old comrades, who were supposed to be on their way?_

But she banished those pessimistic thoughts from her head and continued lobbing grenades over the trench.

Then she ran out of grenades.

Her allies began to dwindle one by one until it was only herself, Kryze, a wounded Dred, and two others.

"This is it". She closed her eyes and prepared to accept her fate.

But that's when she heard a strange buzzing noise with her Lekku. At first, she thought that her head had been hit. But then it was getting louder and louder every second. Even her allies began to hear it.

"What's that sound!?" Dred asked.

Ahsoka looked up and saw a familiar sight. Dozens of gunships filled the sky and they sped towards the mountain.

"Look! She shouted as she pointed up into the air. "Reinforcements! The Republic's here!"

As soon as she said this, dozens of missiles were fired from the gunships before they sailed into the air and detonated when they hit the ground around the advancing Shadow Collective forces. When the gunships landed, she saw hundreds of troopers from the 501st Legion ... her master's legion ... pour out of them. They charged down the moutain and began to fire on the retreating Maul troopers.

But then she heard the crunching of trees behind her. She looked back to see several AT-TEs toppling the trees to get into position. They began to fire their mass driver cannons at the retreating Maul troopers. That's when several flights of ARC-170s swooped in and began to bomb everything north of the valley, creating a literal valley of death.

Ahsoka heard her allies cheering behind her. But she didn't. She was just content with just watching the show.

"General Skywalker. We found her!" Someone called out behind her.

Ahsoka turned around to see a familiar figure looking at her.

"AHSOKA!" He shouted.

Tears began to well up in her eyes as Anakin rushed up to her. He threw his arms around her and didn't let go for several minutes. She saw that some familiar troopers began to surround her as they secured the area. One clone in the background was holding up a hologram of Obi-Wan Kenobi and presenting it to Bo-Katan Kryze. She even saw a wounded Dred being carried off by the other two remaining Nite Owl warriors to the aid station.

But all Ahsoka was focused on was her master.

"It's good to see you again Ahsoka," he said as he let go of her to look at her.

She sniffled and wiped her tears away.

"It took you boys long enough," she quipped.

Anakin, Rex, and the others laughed when they knew that it really was their old friend in their presence.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

On Coruscant, the hover capsule carrying Foul Moudama, Roron Corobb, and Palpatine began to come to a halt. It stopped near another tunnel that led to the Chancellor's secret bunker. As they ran through the tunnel and down several flights of stairs, massive double doors began to close behind them. They eventually ran into a final pair of doors. It closed behind them.

The room that they were in was dark. Which it wasn't supposed to be.

There were supposed to be clones and senatorial guards here to great them. Which there have so far been none.

Something was very strange.

Suddenly, blue lights lit up the dark room. This allowed the two Jedi and the Chancellor to see. But they almost wished that the lights had stayed down, because what they saw was disturbing.

There were dead clones and guards everywhere, sprawled out on the floor or slumped over a crate. One clone trooper was smashed into a pillar. A guards head was smashed into the ground. Blaster marks dotted the walls. Discarded weapons lied next to their fallen users.

Palpatine stepped back in surprise. His two Jedi escorts stood ready, because they suspected that they weren't alone.

Suddenly, in the background, a pair of lightsabers ignited to reveal General Grievous hanging upside down from the ceiling. Just as Palpatine turned to look at grievous, Foul Moudama rushed up and pushed him out of the way just as Grievous jumped down to attack. He attacked viciously, but Corobb and Moudama raised their lightsabers and began to parry each strike.

As the Two Jedi fought, Palpatine stepped back out of the light until a shadow was cast very ominously onto every part of his face above his lips. He stood there as he watched Grievous duel with his two Jedi escorts.

The fight continued until Corobb and Moudama managed to catch grievous in a saber-lock. Corobb crossed his sword against one blade, while Moudama crossed his with the other. For a few seconds, it looked like an epic stalemate. But that wasn't over. Grievous had killed many Jedi throughout the war. He didn't do it with just luck or skill. He also did it by fighting dirty. Each of his arms split off into two halves, giving him a total of four arms. The Two Jedi recoiled in fear when they saw Grievous' two extra limbs reach down to his collection of lightsaber. He activated 2 more lightsaber, giving him a total of four. He got out of the saber-lock and began to viciously attack with all four sabers, the swinging blades causing the lights in the room to flash between green and blue very rapidly.

The situation just got a whole lot worse.

* * *

Back in the tunnel, Shaak Ti was still fighting the magna-guards with a captured electro-staff. She flipped through the air over the droids. As she did, she used the force to summon her discarded lightsaber. It activated in midair and spun like a propellor as it flew towards her, slicing through two magna-guards before the hilt landed in the paml of her hand. She was now armed with her saber and the staff.

The droids charged and she ran back. She blocked and parried their blows as she ran, using both weapons to bolster her defense. She used both of her full hands to summon a force push that forced all of the surrounding droids back. They then regained their footing and attacked all at once. But she kneeled down and raised both weapons above her, just as about ten staffs were brought down on her weapons. Electricity cracked through her weapons, but did not effect her.

When the droids realized that they couldn't beat the Jedi Council member, they began to give up. One by one, they began to lift their staffs away from the Shaak Ti's defenses. They then stepped back from the surprised Jedi before they began to withdraw the way they came. After a few seconds, Shaak Ti stood up and watched as the remaining magna guards melted away into the darkness.

She began to wonder why they were withdrawing. That's when she reached into the force to check on her comrades. That's when she felt a great disturbance.

"No!" She exclaimed before she force dashed down the tunnel in the direction that her comrades went.

* * *

At the Chancellor's bunker, Masters Corobb and Moudama were in the middle of a fight for their lives. They tried to block Grievous' deadly blows as fast as was physically possible. But they couldn't keep up. Master Corobb began to falter, and this allowed Grievous to deliver a fatal blow to the Ithorian Jedi.

* * *

Shaak Ti felt Master Corobb's life fade away through the force. She moved faster to try and get to the bunker.

* * *

Master Moudama was the only one left in the bunker. It was him with one blade versus Grievous with four blades. he tried to block all of Grievous' strikes, but he couldn't. Like Corobb seconds ago, Moudama faltered, allowing Grievous to strike a fatal blow to Moudama.

* * *

Shaak Ti felt horrible pain. Both of her companions were dead. She squinted her eyes to fight off tears before she struggled to move faster.

* * *

General Grievous stepped over to a light switch that allowed him to light up the bunker. He found Chancellor Palpatine standing alone off to the side of the room. The General walked up to him and held his curled fist in front of Palpatine.

"You're mine old man," Grievous threatened as he tightened his fist.

But Palpatine remained stoic in the face of the cyborg General.

"I'm not afraid of you," he said as he pointed at him. "You wouldn't dare harm the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic". He smiled. "Whatever would your masters say?" Palpatine mocked.

An annoyed Grievous suddenly yanked him up by his collar and held him several feet in the air. He got in his face.

"You are lucky they want you alive," he threatened.

Suddenly, Shaak Ti rushed into the bunker. She saw the bodies of Corobb and Moudama at her feet. many clones and guards were also sprawled out across the floor. She gasped when she saw Palpatine being held by Grievous.

"Chancellor!" She exclaimed.

"Shaak Ti my dear," he said very casually. "You've come to rescue me".

The togrutan Jedi bared her teeth and shouted out a battle cry before she charged at Grievous with her lightsaber raised.

While still holding Palpatine in one hand, Grievous turned to face her. When she got close enough, she raised her blade to strike. But Grievous swiped her blade to the side with his own. This gave him an opening to grab her blade wrist with one of his hands and hold her up by her neck with the other.

"You're tired Jedi," he said to Shaak Ti, who struggled in his grip. He reached up and grabbed her blade out of her hand. "You won't be needing this". He placed the lightsaber hilt on his belt before several cables began to slither out of his wrist. They each crackled with yellow energy. Shaak Ti looked down at them with fear. "I've got something else for you".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _General Grievous' personal shuttle craft, outside of the Chancellor's bunker._

Outside of the bunker, Several Magna-guards were escorting Palpatine onto a dark gray shuttle for him to be taken off world. Grievous began to follow them up the ramp. That's when a Republic gunship flew towards the ship.

The Separatist shuttle's cannons activated and rotated to track the gunship's movements before they opened fire. Red and black puffs of smoke began to form around the gunship. That's when the engine section caught fire and exploded. The crew was thrown about by the explosion.

That's when Jedi Master Mace Windu jumped out of the gunship, which began to lose altitude and crash nearby. He was followed by several clone jet troopers. They landed behind Grievous' shuttle just before the general himself could board.

He turned around and activated four lightsabers as he prepared to attack Windu and his men. But Windu uses the Force to crush the chest plates protecting the General's organs. Grievous gasped in shock as his chest collapsed onto his organs. He held his chest and collapsed before he began to violently cough. He closed the door as the ship lifted off.

The clones opened fire on the retreating ship. That's when Windu leaped after the ascending ship, but the vessel's blaster barrage forces him to defend himself, thus robbing him of the power behind the leap, and the ship blasts into space.

He watched as the ship disappeared into the skies above. But then, he turned to the bunker. He and his men rushed in to see what had happened. Mace and the clones were shocked to see two Jedi and many clones scattered across the floor. They were all dead.

He then heard electricity crackling. He looked up to see Shaak Ti tied up an hanging from the ceiling with energy cables.

"Shaak Ti!" He exclaimed before he and his men tried to get her down to cut her loose.

"I failed," was all that the Jedi could say, devastated by her failure to protect the Chancellor.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _RSD Indomitable, in orbit above Concrordia, Mandalore System_.

Back in the Mandalore system, Ahsoka was slowly readjusting to her old life aboard the cruiser. She hung out with Rex and some of the boys for a while. Then she went to go raid her old room. Her master and troopers were kind enough to keep everything the way she left it. Save for a few outfits she took, and most of the pictures.

Ahsoka didn't change into her old outfit. She didn't want it anymore. It was a little too tight for her. She liked this new outfit more. It made her look more like the warrior she always was. The young togrutan girl that was on the very cusp of adulthood was walking with her old master through the ship's corridors.

"It's nice of you to drop in Ahsoka," Anakin said. "It...it's good to see you again".

Ahsoka smiled.

"You can't get rid of me that easily Skyguy," she joked.

Anakin smiled back. But then he stopped. He turned to her.

Ahsoka knew that look. They were about to have another one of their moments.

"Ahsoka ... look, I-," Anakin tried to say.

But Ahsoka cut her off.

"Anakin, look, I know what you're about to say,' she said.

"You do?" He asked with one eyebrow raised above the other.

"Yes. Look, not a day goes by where I don't think about what I could've done differently. I know that you and the men must've been devastated. I wish that I could've stayed and let things go back to normal. But I just ... I just couldn't stay anymore. I had to-," Ahsoka said before she was silenced when Anakin raised his hand.

They were quiet for a moment, as they stood in front of a viewport that looked out over space.

"Ahsoka, I know that you were doing what you believed was right. But even though I still disagree with what you did, I just want you to know that..." he inhaled deeply. "...you make me very, very proud".

Ahsoka smiled, and he smiled back.

"Oh, and I have something for you," Anakin said as he reached for something on his belt. It looked like something wrapped in a cloth. He handed it to Ahsoka, who started to open it with anticipation. She untied the know and let it fall to the ground. Then she unwrapped the cloth. Anakin was smiling the entire time. When Ahsoka finally unwrapped it, she had to clasp her mouth shut to suppress a squeal. They were her old lightsabers. In her hands. She thought that she was dreaming.

She looked up to see Anakin smiling.

"Are these-," she began to ask.

"Yup. Welcome back Ahsoka," he said before Ahsoka threw her arms around him in a big hug

He smiled and patted her on the back.

"Okay, okay, that's enough," he said before he withdrew from the hug. "Now come on, let's get to the breifing".

They both began to walk through the corridors to the ship's bridge. They walked in silence before Anakin finally broke it.

"So ... you and Bonteri, huh?"

Ahsoka smiled and blushed at her old master's question concerning her love life. She told Anakin earlier that after the war, she would consider rejoining the Grand Army, but that she had no intention of rejoining the Order. The reason why, made Anakin understand ... perhaps more so than anyone else alive.

They both came across the command deck. they walked through the door to the bridge. It was filled with clone troopers and officers, who were keeping busy as they prepared for a great invasion, to liberate a once proud and noble planet, as well as its people, from a brutal tyrant.

Obi-Wan, Admiral Yularen, and Commander Cody were speaking to holograms of Bo-Katan and Captain Rex, who were on the surface, gathering the Clone Army, and the mandalorian reinforcements that were arriving from the colonies that rejected maul's rule (all of them).

" _It's about damn time Kenobi!"_ Bo-Katan said to Obi-Wan _. "Things in this system have been real messy since that damn Zabrak took over. Our numbers have plunged into the Sarlacc Pit since the occupation began. Some of the Nite Owls are talking about disbanding if the invasion doesn't launch soon. This could be our only chance to take down Maul and his Shadow Collective_."

Obi-Wan stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"Don't worry Kryze. With your allies from the colonies, and our naval support, we should be able to break through Sun'dari's defenses ... and subdue Maul". He noticed Ahsoka and Anakin walking into the room. "Ah, Anakin. We were just discussing the operation," he looked at Ahsoka and bowed his head slightly with a smile. "And I'm glad to see you here again Ahsoka".

"Likewise Master Kenobi," she said with a slight bow of her head before she smiles. She then looked at Rex. "Hey Rexter," she said using a nickname. "You ready to hit the road?"

"You know it ma'am. The boys are itching for a fight. Oh and, uh ... we're glad to have you back," he said.

Ahsoka smiled and blushed.

"It's good to be back Rex".

 _"Okay, now that we've gotten the pleasantries out of the way, can we get back to saving Mandalore?_ " Kryze pressed.

"Right," Obi-Wan said before he began to address a hologram of the planet. "Our first coarse of action will be to-," he started for he was interrupted by the holo-table beeping rapidly.

"Uhhh!" Bo-Katan groaned.

"Sir. Urgent message from Coruscant," Cody said.

"Patch it through," Anakin ordered.

R2-D2 plugged into the computer and began to transmit the message. They were met by a holographic recording of Mace Windu.

" _Kenobi! Skywalker! Coruscant is under siege, and General Grievous has abducted the supreme chancellor,_ " Windu's recording said, causing everyone to recoil in surprise. " _You must return immediately. You must rescue Palpatine"_.

The hologram disappeared.

Everyone was stunned into silence.

But Anakin's resolve showed.

"Grievous," he said with a hint of venom and eagerness in his voice. He'd been aching for a chance to meet that monster. He got up and started barking orders. "Battle stations! All crews to their fighters! Prepare to jump into hyperspace! Move!"

All of the Clones began to run back and forth to their positions.

But everyone was still shocked into silence.

With Coruscant under siege, and the recall order from Mace Windu, what did that mean for the liberation of Mandalore?

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Part 16'll be right around the corner.**

 **It'll be the start of my "The End is Near" section. The End is Near is a story I made that encompassed ROTS and the Siege of Mandalore Arc that was supposed to happen at the end of the Clone wars. So please, stay tuned for the next exciting chapter of Fall of the Republic.**

 **Feel free to leave your thoughts down in the review section if you wish. Just keep the criticism constructive is all I ask.**

 **And until next time, this is Grubkiller, over and out.**


	16. Chapter 16-The Siege of Mandalore

**Have no fear, Grubkiller is here.**

 **Hey folks. This will be part 16 of my Clone wars era story, 'Fall of the Republic', which is also tied in with my other AU3 stories.**

 **Welcome to the beginning of this story's 'The End is Near' arc, which** **will take place during the Siege of Mandalore/Revenge of the Sith.**

 **Parts of this story were inspired by the _Star Wars: Ahsoka_ novel, and KyLeE13's _Siege of Mandalore_ comic from deviantart.**

* * *

 **Now, I know what you're thinking:**

 **" _But Grubkiller...you already wrote 'The End is Near'. Why are you writing it again. What happened to the original version?"-confused reader (AKA: you)_**

 _ **As I did with 'Escaping the Past', I'm keeping the original version posted, while merging a polished version with 'Fall of the Republic'.**_

 **(Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. It was created by George Lucas and is owned by Darth Mickey Mouse. So please, for the love of God, do not sue me.)**

* * *

 **Plot intro** : _A Planet under siege!_

 _After being rescued by a Mandalorian splinter group, ex-jedi Ahsoka Tano is enlisted to help rid the planet Mandalore of its iron-fisted ruler, Darth Maul._

 _Enlisting the help of her old masters, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-wan Kenobi, Ahsoka has rejoined the Grand Army for one final battle, preparing to invade Mandalore and overthrow its brutal leader. But with Coruscant under siege, Ahsoka's masters are recalled back to Coruscant to rescue the Chancellor, leaving her and a contingent of clones to fight Maul on their own._

 _And as the Clone Wars heads towards a bloody climax, a secret Sith plot slowly reveals itself, threatening to bring the Republic and the Jedi Order crashing down for good._

* * *

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _RSV Indomitable. In orbit above Concordia_.

Ahsoka stood near one of the viewports on the starboard side of the ship. She had a holo-communicator with her. The young girl had been trying to reach her boyfriend, Lux Bonteri for a few minutes now. The last time she spoke to him, he was on Coruscant. She remembered the conversation like it was just a couple days ago. Mostly because it was only a couple days ago.

When she couldn't get ahold of him, realizing that civilian chatter on Coruscant was probably limited with the invasion, she settled with just looking at a holo-pic of herself and him on Shili. She smiled at the picture. They appeared to be a normal happy couple in the picture. Lux even planted a small kiss on her cheek after the picture was taken.

Their feelings for each other ran deep, and their passion for one another was strong, for the chain that bound them was forged in the fires of war.

Ahsoka closed her eyes and thought about the night that he ... 'had her' at that pond, and hummed to herself. She then held the holo-pic to her chest. Her breasts pushed together as she tried to pull the pic against her beating heart.

Then she heard footsteps behind her. She tensed up and put her holo-projector back in her utility belt when she saw that it was Anakin walking up to her.

"Is everything alright Ahsoka?" Anakin asked.

"I'm fine Skyguy, I-" she looked back to see him giving her a look. She sighed. "Master, let me come with you. If I don''t then ... who'll watch your back?"

Anakin could see right through her ploy. She wanted to make sure that a certain senator was alright.

"It's alright Ahsoka. "I've got Obi-Wan with me". Anakin said. Ahsoka looked down in defeat. "Besides. You need to stay here and help retake Mandalore."

"I know. But still, I wish that you and master Kenobi could stay".

Anakin smiled and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Come on. I've gotta take you to the surface".

Anakin then walked off with Ahsoka right behind her.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Republic Gunship, Lucky Lekku, en route to Concordia's surface, Mandalore's moon, 19 BBY_.

Anakin and Ahsoka were riding a gunship to the Surface. They held onto the hand rails as they flew to the surface as Anakin spoke into his com-link.

"Rex, I want you gather the men. We're on our way down," Anakin said.

" _Roger that General_ ," Rex replied.

Anakin shut the com-link down and turned to Ahsoka.

"I want you to be careful Ahsoka," Anakin said. "Maul is tricky. he has no mercy in him at all".

"I remember," Ahsoka replied, trying to scrape up some of the brashness that had earned her the nickname 'Snips' the first time they'd met. She didn't think the effort was tremendously successful, but Anakin smiled anyway.

"I know," he said as he rolled his own shoulders, already thinking of his own fight. "But you know how I worry".

"What could happen?" Ahsoka asked.

Acting more like her old self was easier the second time, and then she found that she was smiling too.

A few minutes later, they felt the gunship land with a thud. But before the hatch could open, Ahsoka felt a hand on her shoulder. She was turned around to face Anakin, and then found herself giving him her full attention.

"Ahsoka, ever since I first met you, you've always defied my expectations,and have matured a lot since then. This is probably the most important mission of your life, and I just wanted to let you know that ... I'm very proud of you," Anakin said.

Ahsoka raised an eyebrow.

"Wait a minute, whenever you tell me that you're proud of me, it usually means that you're hiding something from me," Ahsoka said accusingly, making Anakin smile. "What did you do this time, Skyguy?"

Anakin continued to smile at her.

"I just thought that it was only right to let you become the leader that you were born to be," Anakin said.

"What?" Ahsoka asked, still confused.

"Pilot!?" Anakin called out. "Open the door".

For a second, nothing happened. But then, the gunship's side hatch opened up slowly. When it was fully open, she saw a sight that nearly floored her. Her mouth was agape as she saw was in front of her very eyes.

Anakin smirked at her reaction.

In front of her were two rows of clone troopers facing each other while standing at attention. In the middle of them was an aisle. At the end of the aisle was Captain Rex, who also stood at attention. The clones were all wearing their identical white phase-II armor. But their was something that they all did with their armor. They had painted orange markings on their armor. Their shoulder pads, knee guards, and elbow guards were all painted orange. Various orange lines, shapes, symbols, and phrases were marked on their armor with orange paint. But the most unusual part was their helmet faceplates. They were painted orange with white face marks that were identical to Ahsoka's. Or they just kept the helmets white and made the markings orange.

It all surprised her.

"Commander on deck!" Rex called out. Every clone in front of her straightened up and threw up a brisk salute in perfect unison.

Ahsoka felt like she was about to collapse and break down into tears. "Are ... are those-?"

"...Your men?" Anakin answered with a small chuckle. "Yes they are. Ahsoka..." he said as he placed his hand on her shoulder and extended his hand in the clone's direction. "...Let me introduce you to the 'unofficial' 332nd Legion. Exactly one half of the fighting men of the 501st temporarily transferred to your command," Anakin said.

Ahsoka looked at them.

This unit of clones wasn't just one half of the 501st. It was also every trooper that was with Ahsoka throughout her entire trial. These men were handpicked by Skywalker for their loyalty towards her. This made Anakin give them the name _"Ahsoka's Loyalists"_.

"I - I don't know what to say," Ahsoka said.

"I do," Anakin said before he gave her a hug, which she returned. "Welcome home".

After a few seconds, Anakin's com-link went off. He broke away from the hug.

"That's my queue to leave. I've gotta go," he said before he turned back to the gunship.

"Master," Ahsoka said, prompting Anakin to turn back to her. "May the force be with you".

"Goodbye Ahsoka," he said. "And may the force be with you too".

And with that, Anakin boarded the gunship, which carried him up into orbit, where Obi-Wan and half of the fleet were waiting to head back to Coruscant, and rescue the Chancellor from the evil clutches of Dooku's henchman, General Grievous.

Ahsoka watched and waited for the gunship to disappear into the clouds.

"Commander Tano..." Rex said, prompting Ahsoka to turn around to face her. "...Everything's ready. We're awaiting your orders".

Ahsoka looked at her men, which consisted of exactly 2 regiments worth of clones. All from the 501st, and transferred to the 332nd ... tempoarily.

All under her command.

 _'No pressure'_.

Ahsoka looked up to her men. She walked over to where Rex was to get their attention.

"Alright everyone, listen up!" Ahsoka called out. "Darth Maul is in charge on Mandalore, and he's building weapons of mass destruction to use against everyone he doesn't like ... which is pretty much everyone. So our plan is simple. We punch through the Shadow Collective blockade, punch straight into Sun'dari, punch Maul in the face, win the battle, and go home. Does that sound like a plan?" She asked out loud.

Everyone in the 332nd pumped their fists in the air or clapped their hands as they cheers and whistled at her plan.

She smiled to herself.

Rex did the same.

"That's what I thought," Ahsoka said. "Now let's mount up, and get this show on the road".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Republic Star-Destroyer, RSV Sovereign, en route to Mandalore's orbit, 2 hours later_.

Captain Calgor Autem stood near the viewport of his Star-Destroyer. He watched as the Republic task force and the Mandalorian colonial volunteers moved towards the atmosphere.

All around, in orbit above Mandalore, Warships that were loyal to Maul squared off against those who were loyal to the Nite Owls, and their colonial allies. Dozens of ships of all shapes and sizes hammered away at each other for control of the planet's orbit. Many of them burst into flames or floated lifelessly if they took too much damage.

A clone officer ran up to Captain Autem and saluted.

"Sir, the Nite Owls and the colonials have distracted Maul's forces. We are clear to proceed," the officer said.

"Good. Make sure the smaller ships stay behind the Star-Destroyers, and throw as much power into the forward shields and the engines. We'll be the rock on which this river shall part on," Autem said.

A few moments later, the crew carried out Autem's orders. The _Sovereign_ and its task force moved swiftly through the chaos, firing their weapons as they did. Blue plasma flew in every direction from the accelerating Republic Warships. They damaged, or destroyed, several Shadow Collective warships along the way. It was an incredible display of Republic Naval power. Moments later, the Republic task force made it through the space battle. They found themselves descending into the atmosphere.

They passed through the clouds and hung in the skies over the deserts that surrounded Sun'dari, the capital of Mandalore, and the center of Maul's regime.

The heavy cannons on the _Sovereign_ and its escorts roared with anger as they pounded the areas around the city. Blue plasma slammed into the small cube-buildings that surrounded Sun'dari's black dome. The cube-buildings were originally supply buildings, which've now been converted into buildings meant for military purpose. Burning debris rose into the air and then collapsed as they were hit by Republic Naval fire.

Autumn moved back to the CIC in the back of the bridge. He pressed a button on the side of the holo-table. He then spoke into it.

"Commander Tano. You are clear for take off. We'll remain on station to provide fire support for you and your men," Autem said.

" _Thanks Captain. We're taking off now. We'll call you when we need you. Ahsoka out,_ " Ahsoka said through the comm system.

"We'll be waiting. Good luck down there," Autem said as he cut the feed.

The battle to liberate this proud and noble planet from a horrible tyrant had begun.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Gunship Valkyrie 2929, lower hanger bay of the RSV Sovereign_.

Ahsoka was nervous.

This will be her first time leading men into battle since before she was kicked out of the order. And Anakin wasn't nearby, ready to save the day when the need would arise.

As the gunship, carrying Rex, Jesse, Hardcase, Tup, and Kix, along with Appo's squad, Boomer's squad, Kano's squad, and Coric's squad (Who were all wearing different sets of armor with orange markings) lifted off from the deck to join the rest of the Invasion force, she breathed in heavily as she contemplated the future.

She thought about her friends on Coruscant, and her boyfriend in the senate. She reached both of them back when she was a mechanic on Nessem, but she was afraid that she wouldn't get that chance again. Concerning Lux, Ahsoka was afraid for his safety in the midst of the Separatist invasion on Coruscant. She was afraid that she wouldn't get the chance to talk to him, even over a com-link.

The chance to _see_ him again.

The chance to ' _feel'_ him again.

Ahsoka was also afraid of letting Skyguy and her men, not to mention an entire planet, down. Ever since she was assigned to him as his padawan, she'd felt babied by him. She also felt desperate to prove herself in this way. But now that that chance had finally arrived, she regretted ever even thinking of taking on such an enormous responsibility.

Ahsoka then felt a hand on her shoulder. The startled 17 year old togrutan turned around to see that it was Rex, a seasoned clone captain that first saw action on Geonosis at the very beginning of the war. Like the rest of _'Ahsoka's loyalists_ ', he made the blue parts on his armor orange.

"Hey kid? You okay?" Rex asked.

Ahsoka took in a deep breath before exhaling.

"I have the weight of the galaxy on my shoulders Rex".

"Ma'am. You don't have to be worried. These men have complete faith in your skills. And these men were chosen because they would've broken into prison to have you freed had the senate not come to their senses. And you know what? I would've done the same".

Ahsoka smiled and blushed at what Rex just said. She nodded at him before she turned around and looked out of the open hatch of the gunship.

Dozens of gunships, carrying troopers, vehicles, and supplies to the surface, soared through the skies above Mandalore's deserts.

Ahsoka even saw hundreds of Bo-katan's Night Owls. The Night Owls were any Death Watch warrior that defied Maul's regime with Bo-Katan. They have been planning, and dreaming, for this day: the day that they would finally reclaim their homeland from an awful tyrant. Now, instead of dreaming of that day, they could live it. Many Night Owls, if they weren't using a Mandalorian fighter or shuttle, used their jet packs to fly through the lies to the city by themselves instead of 'dishonorably' mooching off of the Republic for a ride.

It was a beautiful sight to behold. But then that sight was suddenly filled with black and red puffs of smoke. They got closer to her gunship. Not to mention louder. The Gunship vibrated and shook violently as it was rocked by tiny explosions.

"Stang," Jesse, an ARC trooper, exclaimed.

"Where's that crap coming from?" Hardcase, the weapon's specialist, shouted.

"Talk to me Hawk. What do you see?" Ahsoka asked the gunships's pilot.

" _Enemy AA, coming from the city. This is gonna get bumpy_ ".

The gunship rocked even more heavily.

Some of the other gunships weren't as lucky. One of the nearest ships was hit directly where the portside wing connects to the main body of the gunship. It caught fire and trailed smoke. The ship lost altitude as it crashed into the sandy surface and exploded in a ball of fire. Many others suffered the same fate.

"Get us below those guns!" Ahsoka shouted into her com-link. The gunships flew down to a lower level just above the surface, in order to avoid the enemy fire.

Then, all of a sudden, a panicky voice came in over all channels.

" _This is supply transport T-327. We've been hit. We're going down. AAHHH!-ffffffzzzzzzzzz!_ " said the voice before it cut to static.

A voice came in from the other side of her link.

" _Tano! Maul has some heavy artillery protecting Sun'dari. You might want to pull your fleet out of range,"_ Bo-katan said.

"Roger that. Captain!?" Ahsoka said.

" _We heard her commander. And we saw the cannons. Pulling out of range now,_ " Autem said over the link.

The Sovereign and the rest of the task force withdrew, but they continued to fire on the areas surrounding the city.

 _Well, we're off to a good start,_ Ahsoka though sarcastically.

On the docks that lined the peirmeter of the city, many anti-air guns (not the ones that drove the Republic fleet back) were set up and were firing on the approaching gunships. The ARC-170 squadrons that escorted the gunships fired their proton torpedoes at the docks outside of the city's dome. Explosions detonated along the entire docking area along the perimeter of the city. The ARCs then peeled off and headed back to the fleet to refit and refuel.

The gunships then came in for a landing. As soon as the gunships hovered above the platform, the hatches opened. Ahsoka and her men spilled out of the gunships, onto the docks, and immediately sprung into action. The Siege of Mandalore had begun, and Ahsoka's men were off to a terrific start.

 _'Oh if only that were true. Plans never survive first contact with the enemy,'_ Ahsoka thought to herself as she ignited her Green and Yellow lightsabers for the first time in over half a year.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Royal Palace, Sun'dari, Mandalore_.

As the Siege of Mandalore began, and Republic troops stormed the docks, Prime Minister Almec marched through the corridors of the Royal Palace. The palace interior had gray walls, with guards that lined them every 20 feet.

He walked into the throne room to see Lord Maul sitting there. The throne room's windows were blocked by maroon colored drapes that blocked out most of the natural lights. Except for the balcony windows of coarse. It represented Maul's reign over the planet perfectly.

Dark and depressing.

Almec bowed before he spoke to his lord and master.

"My Lord, a Fleet of Republic Warships has been spotted entering the atmosphere, and gunships are heading for the city itself. What would you have us do?" He asked.

Darth Maul leaned to the side of his throne as he starred at Almec with his menacing yellow eyes.

"If it's a War they want..." Maul started. "...then it's a War they shall get".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **That's chapter 16 folks.**

 **Hope ya'll enjoyed.**

 **Chapter 17'll be up soon. The Siege of Mandalore, and ROTS, begins.**


	17. Chapter 17-Another Happy Landing

**Have no fear, Grubkiller is here.**

 **Hey folks. Here's chapter 17 of my CW story, 'The Fall of the Republic!'**

 **I hope that you all enjoy. Also, please feel free to leave your thoughts down in the review section when you're done reading. I really love hearing from you people.**

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. It belongs to Lucasfilms, which was created by George Lucas and is currently owned by Darth Disney. So please God, please don't sue me.**_

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Mandalore, Sun'dari space ports_.

Ahsoka and her men poured out of the lead gunship.

Orange armored clone troopers raised their rifles and fired at the Shadow Collective forces (Not just Death watch, but also largely Mandalorian troopers that are dressed like the riot guards, but with black and red).

Blue lasers filled the air as the Clones laid down murderous fire down on Maul's forces. Ahsoka was in the center of it all as she deflected yellow Manadalorian laser blasts back at the Shadow Collective forces with her lightsabers.

"Come on. Push them back," Ahsoka shouted to her men.

Bo-Katan and her Night Owls came out of no where and hovered over the Clones with their jetpacks. They used rockets from their jet packs to destroy clusters of Shadow Collective troopers.

The Clones charged forward.

Rex and Jesse used their dual sidearms to blast at the Shadow Collective troopers.

Tup used his DC-15 blaster rifle as a club to knock a Mandalorian to the ground. The fallen guard held his hand up in a desperate attempt to stay alive. However, it was in vain as Tup used his rifle to blast him in the face. He then moved on to his next target.

On the other side of where the gunship landed, Sgt. Appo and his team inched forward, towards a group of Mandalorians that were pinned down by Hardcase, who used his Z6 Rotary blaster to lay down suppressing fire. Appo and his men vaulted over the enemy's cover and kicked them to the ground as they landed, before they blasted them or plunged their laser bayonets into their torsos. Boomer and Kano's men covered the left and right flanks as Ahsoka and the others moved up the middle. The gunships were still pouring troopers onto the deck while pouring fire onto the enemy positions.

The Shadow Collective troopers started to pull back away from the docks and into the city.

"They're falling back" Ahsoka shouted before waving her men forward. "Come on!"

Ahsoka, Bo-Katan, the clones, and the Night Owls moved forward. They made their way through a tunnel that connected the docks to the city. Republic and Mandalorian free forces were using similar tunnels all along the perimeter of the city to move their heavy equipment.

Ahsoka held down a button on her wrist comm and spoke into it.

"Sovereign command, this is Commander Tano. We've secured the docks and are on our way into the city," she said as she released the button to receive word from the ship.

" _Copy that Commander Tano. Be advised: those cannons are still a serious threat, and Maul's fighters are beginning to swarm over our task force. Until you've taken out those guns, we can not risk giving you any naval fire support. But we can still try to replenish your supplies with the gunships, but that may prove to be difficult,_ " Captain Autem said through Ahsoka's wrist comm.

"Copy that Captain. We'll do what we can in the meantime. Tano out," she said before cutting the transmission.

As the strike forces emerged from the tunnel, they saw the beautiful skyline of the city.

"All right then, time for us to get to work," Rex said before he flagged down the Artillery and tanks. "Get those tanks in position for the assault, and set up the heavy cannons!"

"Yes Sir," the battery commander said before he started ordering his troopers around. In a few moments the heavy cannons started to unfold, while the AT-TEs, AT-RTs, and TX-130s moved near the elevator that would take them to the streets below.

Ahsoka and her troopers mustered to the elevators as well. Bo-Katan walked over to Ahsoka.

"We'll try to wrestle control of the skies away from the Shadow Collective. Maybe we can even try to disable the city's AA defenses. I'm also going to need your jet troopers for this one," she explained.

Ahsoka raised her eye brow to Bo-Katan. Mandalorians usually didn't ask for help. But it probably wasn't their day to be picky.

"All right. Take them. I guess I've got ground side duty with the rest of the Clones," Ahsoka said. "Are your men ready for this?"

Bo-Katan walked away and rallied her Night Owls to the edge that overlooked this once majestic city to give a rousing speech.

"Warriors of the Night Owls. Sons and Daughters of a free Mandalore. For the past year, ever since Mandalore's authority was usurped by the treacherous outsider Darth Maul, our once proud, and noble, planet and its people, have been stifled under the oppressive heel of his puppet regime. Our people have been bullied into submission. Political prisoners have been taken away to labor camps all across the system. Our people and resources have been used to feed Maul's terrorist war machine. But now, on the one year anniversary of this planet's subjugation, we have returned. A great battle for the liberation of our once great people shall tear Maul's corrupt and totalitarian regime apart. Our destiny beckons. It is time to reclaim what was stolen from us: our cradle world. Take heart warriors. Mandalore will be free, and we will make it great again!" Bo-Katan said.

All of her warriors cheered. Their battle cry could shake the foundation of any building. They activated their jet packs and followed their "Warrior Duchess" into the air space above Sun'dari. Many of Maul's death watch soldiers went to meet them. They began to dogfight above the city. There were explosions, and yellow blaster bolts flew in every direction. Low yield AA fire from the city below began to fire upwards.

The battle for Sun'dari had begun.

All of the platforms that carried Ahsoka and her men started to descend towards the streets below.

The Republic Artillery was set up at the same time. The clone battery commander walked in front of the cannons and raised his hand in the air and paused. After a few seconds, his hand swiftly dropped to his waist.

"Fire!"

The barrels of each cannon exploded, sending balls of plasma over his head and down range towards the city.

Over the past year, the resistance groups that were loyal to the old pacific government and the Nite owls, and supported by the Republic, have been sneaking people out of as major cities. Many fled Sun'dari over the period of time that Maul's puppet, Prime Minister Almec, ran the planet, mostly in the early days. So no one really worried too much about civilian casualties. Civilians were mostly underground if they remained in the city.

The Ahsoka and the clones watched as Republic ordnance was fired into the buildings below. Craters were blasted into the pavement, and walls were completely blown open. The sidings of some buildings even collapsed all together, leaving the interiors of the buildings exposed.

"Kryze, we're starting our attack now," Ahsoka said into her wrist comm.

" _Good. Keep the artillery creeping forward. I want us to strike fear into the hearts of Maul's regime and the traitors that follow him_ ," Bo-Katan said.

"But aren't you worried about the city?" Ahsoka asked.

" _It can be rebuilt. And there's hardly anyone left in the city, and if there are, they're most likely underground. Beside's, I would rather see this city burned to the ground than under Maul's control_ ," Bo-Katan said before cutting off the transmission.

Ahsoka looked at Rex, who just shrugged his shoulders.

The elevators finally reached the streets. The Republic could now begin it's advance into the city. The AT-TE's moved through the streets with the light hover tanks and the AT-RT's moving forward alongside them. The clones moved through the ruined buildings and the side alleys.

"Come on boys, move up with the armor. And be sure to watch your spacing," Rex called out to his men.

As they continued their advance, nothing seemed to happen. It was all quiet. Nothing but the skeletal remains of the buildings and piles of rubble, with the occasional fire.

Suddenly, Shadow Collective forces popped out of cover and began to fire on the advancing Republic forces.

"The invaders are here, drive them out. For Lord Maul!" one of the Shadow Collective troopers called out.

"For Mandalore!" Another shouted.

"Victory or death!" Another one shouted.

"They're everywhere, find cover," Ahsoka called out.

Every clone took cover behind corners or behind pieces of debris before they returned fire.

Ahsoka activated her sabers and placed herself between the Shadow collective forces and her troopers. She expertly swung her blades to block any bolt that came her way. Many bolts were fired at her, but none hit her. Some were even deflected at the Mandalorians that fired them.

All around her, Clone troopers began to seize the initiative. They laid down suppressing fire on the buildings that Maul's forces were taking cover in. Some had even attached grenade launchers to their DC-15 a rifle, and started firing grenades at the concealed enemy troopers. Explosions from those launched grenades rocked the buildings that were hit by them. The explosions also kicked up dust that obscured the enemy's vision.

"Come on. Charge the building while their blind," Ahsoka shouted.

"You heard her lads, let's go!" Rex shouted, repeating Ahsoka's orders.

Many of the troopers activated laser bayonets on the ends of their rifles before charging into the Shadow Collective forces. The clones charged right into the Mandalorians. They prodded their adversaries with their bayonets, or slashed them across their bodies. The results were gruesome.

Ahsoka sprinted past the bloody melee with her green sabers in hand. She leaped into the air. The arch of her leap led her into the window of the building that the Clones were fired on from. The hapless shadow collective trooper that occupied the window never knew what hit him as Ahsoka slashed her blades in a 'x' form. That motion caused her target's head to roll. She then landed in a position that made her crouch down and kneel, her blades standing in the air. She opened her eyes and looked to her right. A trio of Mandalorian troopers stared at her in a dumbstruck manner.

"Jedi, get her!" the trooper shouted, trying to bring his weapon to bare on her. But Ahsoka was too quick. She sprinted towards them and swung her blades wildly. The room, that lacked natural sunlight, was illuminated green as she cut the troopers apart. When she was done, Ahsoka stood back up and looked to her left. The small building was clear and Clone troopers started heading up the stairs.

Sgt. Appo was leading them.

He saluted. "Ma'am. Rex and his team have secured the building next door. This side of the street is ours".

"Good. Now bring up the rest of the armor," Ahsoka ordered.

As soon as she said that, blaster fire began to pour out of the building directly across the street. Blaster bolts flew through the windows right next to her. Everyone took cover. One trooper that wasn't fast enough was speared right in the throat with a blaster bolt. Another one was shot through the stomach, causing him to write on the floor in agony before a clone medic rushed up and kneeled next to him and went to work trying to save him.

Maul's forces had everything covered. Anything that stepped into their sight would be wiped out. One clone squad that had been in the streets was cut to half strength before vaulting behind a low wall for cover.

Ahsoka turned to Appo.

"Tell Rex that I want rocket fire on that building, and bring up the armor!" She shouted to Appo before she jumped out of the open window to join the troopers on the ground, who were apart of Sgt. Boomer's unit.

"Boomer, I have an idea. I want your squad to start prepping grenades. We need to be through that building soon," Ahsoka said, just as an AT-TE was hit by a rocket blast to its cock-pit behind her. "Very soon!" Ahsoka said with emphasis.

"Yes ma'am," Boomer said. "Alright boys, time to give Maul's boys a present. Prep your grenades!"

They all prepped a thermal detonator each.

"Toss 'em!" Boomer shouted.

They threw them, but Ahsoka used the force to propel a grenade into different open windows. When the grenades were inside, they exploded. She heard screaming and the fire coming from those buildings ceased.

The AT-TEs marched up the street when the fire died down. They turned their powerful main cannons at the building to their left. Their cannons fired into the building at point-blank range. The powerful explosions sent dust and debris everywhere. The enemy fire was now silent.

"Nice one Commander," Boomer complimented as he bumped his fist against her shoulder.

Ahsoka smiled at the compliment.

"Torrent Company move inside," Ahsoka ordered. "Cascade and Waterfall companies will move around these buildings with the armor!"

"Yes ma'am," some of the troopers shouted.

Ahsoka and the clones moved through the building. It must've been some sort of records keeping building, for there were record and holo-books everywhere. There were also bodies of Maul's forces scattered everywhere. Some of them weren't in one piece.

"Captain, Commander. There are survivors". One clone called out.

Rex walked near passed one of the bodies and saw that he was reaching for a grenade. He blasted him with his sidearms. Another Shadow Collective trooper raised a blaster at a clone and managed to get a shot off. The trooper was grazed in the shoulder plate. Before the maul trooper could fire again, Jesse raised his pistol and put him down before he could use it again.

"Make sure these bastards can't shoot us in the back," Jesse ordered.

The clones finished off the wounded Shadow Collective soldiers. Partially to put them out of their misery, but mostly to eliminate the threat theses particular Madalorians still represented. From what they've seen so far, the Shadows didn't surrender for the most part.

"All right, let's keep moving," Ahsoka and the clones moved down into the streets below.

A few AT-RTs moved through the side alley with Torrent company.

They also saw a pair of Night Owls pushing several Shadow Collective prisoners up against a wall.

"Move you traitors. Face us you cowards," one of the Night owls ordered.

"No please, we were forced to stay and fight. Please, don't shoot!" one of the Maul 'loyalists' begged.

The two night owls then blasted at their prisoners. killing most of them.

But one of them was still alive, barely. He crawled on the floor.

Ahsoka tried to stop them.

"Wait!" both she and the wounded prisoner said, just as one of the night owls walked up and shot him point blank in the face.

"What did you do that for? They were surrendering," Ahsoka shouted.

The two Nite Owls turned around to size her up. But she held her ground.

"They were traitors who sided with the enemy and have committed terrible crimes against the people of Mandalore. You have no idea what kind of atrocities that these animals have committed in Maul's name. Your jedi compassion has no place in this war, much less on Mandalore. So stay out of the way of justice," the night owl said before he and his companion jetted off into the sky to rejoin their comrades, who were dogfighting above.

All of the troopers had their eyes on Ahsoka, who looked like she wanted to punch something.

"We'll worry about it later Commander. The mission always comes first ma'am," Rex said, trying to bring Ahsoka back onto the mission.

She frowned. "Fine. Hardcase!" she called out to the heavy weapon's specialist and pointed at a wall that separated the alley from the street. "Blow it!"

"Ha Ha, I love this job!" The hyper active trooper shouted as he placed a thermal detonator on the wall.

He hugged the wall with the others. The wall blew apart, allowing the rest of the company to move through. They spread out into the street in front of the courtyard that was on the grounds of an old asylum.

"Keep your eyes peeled. The enemy can be anywhere!" Rex shouted to his men.

For the moment, all was quiet.

Then suddenly, the world exploded around them. Mandalorian fire came down from the asylum.

"Found them!" Trooper Tup shouted, smarting off.

"Find cover!" Ahsoka shouted.

The Clones scattered to find cover, which most of them found behind a low wall that made up the perimeter of the Asylum's courtyard, and started laying down suppressing fire.

The AT-TEs were in a nearby street but were pinned down by Shadow Collective armor. They traded shots, but the Republic tanks were stuck where they were. The highly mobile AT-RTs fired their rapid fire blasters at the enemy building. A flight of death watch troopers loyal to Maul flew overhead and blasted two of the AT-RTs to slag as they flew by, while being chased by a flight of Nite Owls.

"This place is a God Damn hornet's nest! It must be their forward command post for this part of the city," Rex said over the sound of gun-fire.

"Grrr! We need to fight our way into the asylum. Rex, Jesse, Kix, Hardcase, and Tup. On me. We're gonna clear out the courtyard. Appo, Boomer, kano, Coric, I want you and the rest of the men to provide covering fire," Ahsoka ordered.

The troopers nodded.

"Now!" Ahsoka ordered as she vaulted over the low wall and jumped down about 6 feet into the courtyard. She swung her blades, deflecting everything that came her way.

Appo and the rest of the company, along with the AT-RTs, started laying down murderous suppressing fire upon the building. There were enemy snipers and AT (anti armor) teams firing on the Republic forces below. Distracting them meant giving Ahsoka some breathing room.

Rex and the others followed suit, keeping close behind her for cover. It was something that she and Anakin did with the clones in the past. The Sword and shield maneuver. The Jedi block, while the clones fire. As Ahsoka blocked the Mandalorian laser blasts, the Clones fired over her.

Jesse brought his scoped DC-15a to bare on a repeating blaster emplacement that was firing on them from the second floor. He sighted on the gunner and squeezed the trigger. He sent a blaster bolt straight through the eye of the gunner, silencing the that emplacement for good.

Hardcase inched over to the side, blasting away at the Mandalorian forces with his rotary cannon. His firepower kept every Maul trooper in the courtyard from daring to lift their heads.

With the turret silent and the Shadow Collective forces suppressed, Rex, Tup, and Kix started lobbing grenades over Ahsoka's head. The grenades landed near or behind the dug in Mandalorians. The blasts lifted several Maul loyal troopers into the air from the concussive force. When they were close enough, Ahsoka and the clones charged at the remaining troopers. They then started to hack away at them with their bayonets and sabers.

Bo-Katan and some of her troopers flew by.

"Kryze. Nice of you to join us!" Ahsoka shouted.

"I thought I'd see how you were doing. Then I saw that your tanks were pinned down. So I had people take care of that," Bo said as she pointed to some of her other Nite Owls.

They were harassing the Shadow collective tanks from above. One night owl blasted open a tank hatch and used his flamethrower vambrace to clear out the inside of the tank. Fire shot out of every part of that tank.

In a few moments the AT-TEs would be free to move.

"Thanks Kryze. Are about to bring down the Anti-Aircraft guns?" Ahsoka asked.

"Not yet. We still have to find the control center. I've got to get back to my warriors. See you on the other side Tano".

Bo-Katan then took off with her warriors.

"Rex, Jesse, and Appo. Take your men and follow me into the asylum. We need to secure the regiment's flanks. Everyone else, move up with the armor around the building," Ahsoka said as she waved her troopers into the building after her.

It was dark inside the building. Ahsoka used her blades and the troopers turned on their helmet lights to see. What they saw made them wish that they didn't turn them on.

The asylum was full of blood stains. It also smelled of rotting flesh. They passed by a few prison cells. There were dead bodies inside. They had been burned alive by the looks of things. Ahsoka recoiled in disgust at both the sight of burnt corpses, and the horrible smell of charred human flesh.

"UUcckk! What has Maul been doing in this place?" Ahsoka asked in disgusted horror.

"I'm not sure that we want to know," Rex said.

They made their way upstairs were it had more natural light shining through, not to mention much less horror shows like there were downstairs. It was all quiet. Some would say too quiet (cliché quotes for the win). Even Ahsoka found it hard to hear anything, despite her head tails being literal radar.

"Do you guys hear anything?" Tup asked.

"No, but that's what has me me on edge," Kix said.

"Ha, they must've heard me coming and ran," Hardcase.

"Like hell they did Hardcase," Kix stated to the blood thirsty clone.

"Cut the chatter and keep your eyes and ears open. They could be anywhere," Rex ordered.

They came up on a room. There was water pooled out on the floor from a leaking pipe on the ceiling, and massive holes in the walls.

That was when all Hell broke loose.

Several Maul troopers shot out from their concealed positions and fired on the Clones. Lucky for the clones, Ahsoka was still in front of everyone and had her sabers ready for action before those Maul troopers reared their ugly heads. She deflected every shot back at Maul's forces, killing most of them. The rest, though wounded, beat feet deeper into the asylum.

"Get them!" Rex ordered.

The clones chased the enemy troopers into the asylum. They came up on a sky bridge, which connected one section of the asylum to another. Their was an enclosed courtyard down below with a pile of charred skeletal remains.

 _'Maul most likely used this place to deal with political prisoners'_.

The other side of the skybridge was heavily protected. There were death watch troopers hovering above the skybridge, while regular Maul troopers lined up along the rooftop and the windows. They unleashed a hailstorm on the Republic forces on the other side. Several rockets hit the Republic side. A couple of troopers were killed. The rest were pinned down. The hovering death watch troopers fired all of their remaining rockets at the skybridge. It collapsed, severing the link between the two sections of the asylum.

"Ah great! Now how are we gonna get across?" Tup shouted.

"I hear this this trick that you can do with grenades," Hardcase shouted.

"Get your heads back into the fight troopers and focus!" Appo shouted.

"Bring up those rocket launchers," Ahsoka shouted as she deflected more shots back at the enemy. One shot she deflected hit a death watch trooper in the rocket pack, forcing him to fly out of control before his exploding pack took him with it.

Three troopers ran into the windows with rocket launchers.

"Move it troopers, on the double," Jesse ordered.

The troopers aimed their launchers at the other side.

"Fire!" Jesse shouted as he pointed at the other side of the sky bridge.

Smoke flew out of the rear of the launchers, and the rockets jetted out of the front ends. They flew towards the windows on the other side.

They created three tremendous explosions, silencing the Shadow Collective weapon emplacements. The death watch troopers flew away, while the troopers on the roof retreated.

Ahsoka deactivated her blades.

"So how are we gonna get across?" Kix asked.

"I have an idea," Ahsoka said as she walked over to the edge of the floor where the sky bridge once stood.

She inhaled deeply before exhaling. She raised her hands, channeling the power of the force. With all of her strength, she was able to raise several chunks of the fallen debris. She began to struggle a little bit. The pieces were heavy.

"Hurry, everyone get across," Ahsoka ordered in a strained voice.

The Clones all started jumping over until they were all across.

Ahsoka dropped the debris when the last clone had lead frogged over the floating debris. She stood back and took a running start before jumping to the other side.

Ahsoka and the clones pushed through the building until they came across the last few rooms in the building. They ran through a doorway and into the hallway. That's when two clones were gunned down by a repeating blaster turret.

"Stang!" Rex shouted. "Enemy turret's got the hallway covered. Appo!"

"I'm on it," Appo said as he threw a flashbang behind the mando-trooper's turret. It detonated, and screams were heard from the other side.

Appo and his squad rushed the turret and blasted the gunner point blank in the face repeatedly. These actions had an effect on Maul's forces, as they began to run away.

The retreating Mandalorians ran out of a hole in the wall and down a mountain of debris into the streets below. They joined their other comrades to escape the column of Republic Armor that was advancing down the streets.

"There's our armor," Tup shouted.

"All right troopers, link up with the tanks and push them back!" Ahsoka ordered.

Ahsoka and her men regrouped in front of the AT-TEs. As they advanced, the Shadow Collective started to make a fighting retreat down the street. As this happened, the Clones blasted away at their retreating adversaries. The AT-TEs fired there powerful cannons at the buildings that were crawling with Shadow Collective forces. All along the street, buildings were being demolished at the hands of the Republic's superior firepower.

No where was safe for the hiding and fleeing Maul troopers. Ahsoka and her troopers continued their advance down the street. And they continued to push the enemy forces back.

"Hey, where are you going? Come back here!" Hardcase shouted tauntingly as he fired his rotary cannon into the backs of many a fleeing Mandalorians.

Balls of Republic plasma pounded the pavement, wiping out clusters of Maul's troopers and creating craters in the street. That's when the Night Owls swooped in and started strafing the streets below with blaster fire and streams of fire from their wrist vambraces.

Bo-Katan landed right next to Ahsoka as they halted their advance.

"Look at them run. We should spread the word," Bo-Katan said.

The tanks continued to fire their powerful cannot down the streets, while the Clones formed a perimeter.

One of Bo-Katan's people ran up to her with some device that would connect her to every city on Mandalore.

"Ma'am, we've taken over one of the comm towers. It should broadcast your message across the planet," the trooper said. She smiled and took it before speaking into her device. Her voice echoed across the planet in every city street. People stopped to listen to her speak.

" _Citizens of Mandalore. My name is Bo-Katan Kryze. I am the leader of the Night Owls and the invasion force of Mandalorians that have come to liberate you. I am also the sister of the late Duchess Satine Kryze. For a year now, you have been oppressed by a horrible outsider. Darth Maul has taken away your freedom and he has suppressed any voices of dissent against his false rule. He has taken away the fruits of your labor and forced you to build his war machine, which he is only using to further his own personal agenda. Maul has used you to launch terrorist attacks in his mad pursuit of power. Many of you have lost hope. But fear not. The time of your freedom is at hand. People of Mandalore, drive these traitors into the light to face justice. And to those who support Darth Maul and his illegal reign. Know this: Your city is surrounded. You don't have the support of 'True' Mandalorians, who are the silent majority. Your regime is falling apart. Maul does not care about you. We will defeat those who stand against the True Mandalore. Lay down your arms, abandon your posts, and abandon all hope of defeating our unbeatable spirit. For Mandalore!_ " Bo-Katan managed to say before the tower broadcasting her message was destroyed by a flight of Shadow Collective fighters.

"For Mandalore!" Her warriors repeated, and the people, repeated across the entire planet.

Ahsoka smiled. But she looked away in slight sadness when she remembered those Night Owls executing the prisoners earlier.

 _At what cost Kryze? At what cost_?

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Mandalorian royal palace. Darth Maul's HQ_.

Rook Kast and PM Almec calmly watched as their lord and master, Darth Maul, vented his frustrations on a group of political prisoners. Maul used his dark saber, which he claimed in a duel from the previous leader of Death Watch, Pre Visla, to decapitate the prisoners. Some of the prisoners were Death Watch officers who failed to keep his comm towers, which were constantly broadcasting his propaganda, from falling into enemy hands.

"GGGRrrrrrr!" Maul growled as he decapitated another prisoner.

"What are your next orders Lord Maul?" Rook Kast, one of Maul's top lieutenants, asked before she bowed.

The black and red skinned zabrak with yellow eyes stared at Kast. He breathed in and out with rage and venom. He then calmly regained his composure.

"Accelerate our plans. I want the weapons ready to be shipped out for our use. And mobilize all of our forces. I want them to bomb every city and town across the planet. If we're going to lose Mandalore, then we're going to make sure that the invaders cannot have it. When they are done they will converge on Sun'dari for a final stand," Maul ordered.

Everyone was stunned into silence.

"My lord, I must protest. We are supposed to defend our home world. Not destroy it," Almec protested.

Maul then suspended the Prime Minister into the air. Almec's hands shot up to his throat, which was being crushed.

"I am not destroying Mandalore. I am saving it," Maul said before he crushed Almec's windpipe and threw him through the door to the balcony, sending his suffocating body to the streets far below the palace.

He then looked to his officers, who remained in stunned silence.

"The planet is now infested with traitors. They riot in the streets and welcome the invaders with open arms. Are these the people that you want in control of Mandalore when this invasion is over? Do you want it to be ruled by someone who is supported by the Jedi?" Maul asked.

That got everyone to think.

"This is the end of the Mandalore that you all know. It is time for it to be destroyed and make way for something new. Something better. Rest assured that it will not fall to the invaders or be controlled by those who subvert our just cause. And it will be avenged. The Republic, the Hutts, and the Separatists will _all_ be destroyed, and I will rule over this galaxy. We will rebuild it in our image. The same goes for Mandalore. But in order to make that plan happen, you must follow your supreme warlord one final time," Maul said.

He looked around at his warriors. They all nodded in agreement.

"Victory or Death!" Maul shouted with his fist raised into the air.

"Victory or Death!" The warriors repeated with their fists in the air.

Maul smiled.

 _My plot for revenge will soon be complete_.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant orbit._

High above the planet-wide metropolis of Coruscant, a Venator-class Republic Star-Destroyer was flying high above the planet, who's many urban lights illuminated the dark side of the planet. Way off it's port-side, the sun was just cresting Coruscant's horizon, casting it's orange rays on the ship's port-side, and darkening it's starboard-side. A low, but noticeable, hum emitted from it's powerful engines, put was suppressed by the vacuum of space.

The Ship continued to fly above the planet.

All was seemingly quiet and peaceful.

That's when suddenly, a pair of Eta-2 _Actis_ -class light interceptor, a maroon one and a yellow one, flew towards the ship while screeching down from somewhere above. When they were close to the ship's command tower, the two ships pulled up to fly between the ship's massive turbo-laser turrets, and then along the length of the ship. They pulled to the left along the Star-Destroyer's port-side before they did a small barrel role and dove down over the side of the cruiser.

Suddenly, nothing was peaceful, or quiet.

The two Jedi interceptors were flying high above a massive space battle. Literally thousands of warships were crowding the space above Coruscant. They were all hammering away at each other with their heavy firepower. Hundreds of gray and red Republic Star-Destroyers, just like the one the two Jedi flew near, were fighting the black and gray insect-like warships of the Confederate Navy. Blue lasers crisscrossed with red lasers. Red and blue explosions dotted the planet's atmosphere and the warships above it. Star-fighters from both sides zipped back and forth around both side's ships.

The two Jedi interceptors lit up their engines so they could speed up and dive down faster into the massive space storm that was the battle of Coruscant. They did twists and turns as they flew through the black puffs of flak that filled in the space between the warships.

They flew above a Separatist Munificent-class Star Frigate as it fired it's cannons at a much bigger target, ignoring the two small interceptors.

Both interceptors then flew underneath a Separatist Recusant-class light destroyer as it fired it's main spinal cannon at a target behind the two Jedi. When they zipped passed the large engines, they could feel the humming of the three large engines vibrating through their controls.

As they flew deeper into the mess of warships, the chaos became more and more intense. One Republic Star-Destroyer fired it's powerful main cannons at a separatist frigate that was above it. The blue lasers slammed into the ship's lightly armored underside, causing a powerful explosion that ripped the ship apart. Both Jedi interceptors flew right through the explosion, but went right through unharmed.

Just when they passed through the explosion, another Republic cruiser fired a blue laser beam out of it's lower hanger and it connected with a Separatist Star-Frigate. The beam connected the two ships for a moment, before the aft section of the frigate disappeared in a brilliant explosion. Flaming debris flew everywhere while the intact bow section began to lose altitude.

But despite the chaos, the two fighters continued on ahead.

The astromech droid on the yellow fighter began to whistle and beep.

"Lock on to him, R2," Anakin ordered Artoo. The droid locked onto a Providence-class Dreadnought that was directly ahead, which had just assisted in downing a Republic cruiser, which trailed smoke and lost altitude. "Master, General Grievous's ship is directly ahead- the one crawling with vulture droids."

"I see it. Oh, this is going to be easy," Obi-Wan said sarcastically as several dozen Vulture droids jumped off of the hull of the distant warship, and flew towards the two Jedi. He activated his comm and spoke into it. "Oddball, do you copy?"

" _Copy, Red Leader_ ," said a clone pilot that was leading a squadron nearby.

"Mark my position. Form your squad up behind me," Obi-Wan ordered.

" _We're on your tail, General Kenobi,"_ Oddball said before he spoke to his fellow pilots. " _Set S-foils in attack position_."

Oddball's squadron of ARC-170 Star-fighters flew in from a Republic cruiser,the _RSV Ro-Ti-Mundi_ , and opened up their wings. Ready for action, the fighters flew down and formed up on Obi-Wan and Anakin. When they did, Anakin and Obi-Wan opened up the wings on their ships.

Anakin smiled as the droid fighters began to rapidly close in on the Republic squadron.

"This is where the fun begins," he said with excitement flaring up inside of him.

"Let them pass between us," Obi-Wan ordered.

As the swarm of droid fighters flew in front of them, the clone pilots flew to avoid the enemy fighters. But some of them opened fire to blast the droids that they couldn't avoid. When they passed through the droid swarm, they continued onwards towards Grievous' command ship.

But that's when some of the droid fighters circled back to pursue the Republic squadron. Several Tri-droid fighters fired on the Republic fighters. Two of them were destroyed. The rest broke off to engage the pursuing Separatists. One clone pilot was being chased by three fighters.

" _They're all over me_ ," he shouted over the comm. " _Get them off my-fffffzzzzzzz_ ".

"I'm gonna go help them out," Anakin said, not wanting to leave his men behind.

"No! No. They are doing their job so we can do ours," Obi-Wan reasoned.

Anakin reluctantly listened and continued to fly with his master. That's when he saw four objects flying towards the two Jedi fighters. They looked like spears of some kind, and they were trailing blue exhaust.

"Missiles," Anakin exclaimed. "Pull up".

Anakin and Obi-Wan tilted their fighters just as the missiles flew between them.

"They overshot us," Obi-Wan said.

That's when the missiles began to circle back and pursue the Jedi.

"They're coming around," Anakin said.

* * *

Anakin and Obi-Wan split up. The missiles did the same. Two missiles were chasing each ship. They flew around different warships to try and lose the incoming missiles, but to no avail.

Obi-Wan's droid, R4-P17, tried to take control of the ship so that she could try to avoid the missiles.

"All right, R4," Obi-Wan said as the droid banked the ship hard to the right, causing Obi-Wan to shift around in his seat. "No, no. Nothing too fancy".

* * *

Meanwhile, Anakin wasn't having much better luck with his pair of missiles.

"Surge all power units, R2. Stand by reverse thrusters," Anakin ordered as he began flipping switches. An alarm was going off in his cockpit, as the missiles began to close in on his tail.

Suddenly, Anakin began to spin his fighter like a corkscrew. Artoo beeped rapidly as the ship continued to spin wildly. But the missiles were spinning too. When they were about to hit Anakin's ship, they met in the middle of the corkscrew before they collided and exploded.

R2 whistled as Anakin chuckled.

"We got 'em, R2," Anakin said before he went to go regroup with his master.

* * *

Obi-Wan continued to bank hard to the sides in an attempt to lose the homing missiles. He flew over the over the burning hulk of a Separatist destroyer and flew over it just in time to see several warships colliding with one another.

He continued to turn and spin.

"Flying is for droids," he said to himself, referring to his hatred of flying.

Eventually, the missiles flew right over him harmlessly. That's when they suddenly detonated up ahead. They each released several spherical objects that Obi-Wan flew right through. Some of the attached to his hull.

"I'm hit. Anakin?"

"I see them," Anakin said as he began to trail Obi-Wan's fighter. "Buzz droids".

The spheres all unfolded and began to crawl all over his ship. They began to use their small buzz saws and their tiny limbs to surgically rip the ship apart. R4 began to beep nervously as buzz droids began to surround her. Obi-Wan looked up through his cockpit to see a buzz droid walking across it before it climbed onto R4's head.

"R4, be careful. You have a-," Obi-Wan tried to warn. But it was too late. R4 chirped in alarm as the buzz droid dug it's surgical limbs and saws underneath her head and began to rip it off. R4 began to spark as her head was ripped off before it flew far behind Obi-Wan's ship. "Oh, dear".

The buzz droids continued to dig deep into Obi-Wan's fighter, cutting through critical systems with their knives and buzz saws.

"They're shutting down all the controls," Obi-Wan said as he tried to see if any of his ship's functions would work.

"Move to the right so I can get a clear shot at them," Anakin said as he began to line up his cannons with the droids atop his master's ship.

"The mission. Get to the command ship. Get the chancellor. I'm running out of tricks here," Obi-Wan said before his ship suddenly began to explode. "In the name of-," Obi-Wan exclaimed as Anakin continued to fire on his ship. Some of the buzz droids were blasted away, but so was Obi-Wan's port-side wing section. "- Hold your fire! You're not helping."

"- I agree. Bad idea," Anakin said, realizing that he was doing more harm than the buzz droids were.

The remaining buzz droids continued to cut Obi-Wan's ship apart. One of them began to rip open some sort of fuel system. It caused sort kind of exhaust to spray onto the cockpit, where it then froze to the windows, obscuring Obi-Wan's vision.

"I can't see a thing. My cockpit's fogging," Obi-Wan called out, prompting Anakin to accelerate his fighter towards Obi-Wan's.

That's when Anakin flew alongside Obi-Wan's interceptor as they flew over a CIS star frigate just as fire from a nearby Republic warship caused the ship's bridge superstructure to go up in a brilliant explosion, which the Jedi were forced to fly through.

"They're all over me. Anakin!" Obi-Wan exclaimed frantically.

Anakin then intentionally collided with Obi-Wan's ship, trying to scrape the droids off with his wing.

"Move to the right," Anakin said as he prepared to do what he did again.

"Hold on Anakin. You're gonna get us both killed,' Obi-Wan said. "Get out of here. There's nothing more you can do".

"I'm not leaving without you, Master," Anakin said as he collided with Obi-Wan's ship again. But this time, he managed to scrape his wing against Obi-Wan's and crush several buzz droids.

However, one of them, the last one, managed to climb aboard Anakin's fighter just as he pulled away. It crawled over Anakin's cockpit and walked in front of R2's face. It began to spin up it's buzz saw in order to start tearing the ship apart. But unlike R4, R2 was putting up more of a fight. R2 extended a mechanical limb from his head. "Get him R2," Anakin said, prompting R2 to shock the droid several times. The droid was disorientated for a moment before R2 shocked it again. "Watch out," Anakin said as the buzz droid began to step side to side to avoid R2's electricity.

"R2, hit the buzz droid's centre eye," Obi-Wan called out.

R2 beeped a reply and did as Obi-Wan suggested before he fired at the droid's central eye. The droid twitched and writhed before it's eye exploded. It's lifeless body fell over and slid off of the hull.

"Yeah, you got him!" Anakin exclaimed triumphantly.

"Great, R2." Obi-Wan said.

Both Jedi continued to fly towards Grievous' flagship. A storm of red laser bolts from the ship's heavy cannons flew towards the Jedi fighters.

"The General's command ship is dead ahead," Anakin said as the flak became thicker and thicker.

"DDWWEEEEEEOOOOOO!" R2 screamed as laser bolts flew passed his head.

"Well, have you noticed the shields are still up?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Sorry, Master," Anakin said as he did a barrel roll over Obi-Wan's crippled fighter in order to line up his cannons with the shield generator. Anakin fired his laser bolts, which began to hit the generator. After a few good hits, a brilliant explosion caused the hanger shields to flicker out, seemingly clearing the way. But then a blast door began to rapidly close over the exposed hanger bay in order to seal the ship from the vacuum of space.

"Oh, I have a bad feeling about this," Obi-Wan said as he and Anakin accelerated to try and beat the door.

They flew into the hanger just as the door slammed shut. Both fighters landed and scraped against the hull, plowing through many security droids, who were just recovering from almost being sucked out into space. As Obi-wan's fighter came to a screeching halt, he opened the cockpit, somersaulted through the air, and activated his lightsaber before jumping in the middle of a squad of droids. When he jumped down he began to cut through several of the droids.

Meanwhile, Anakin's ship finally came to a halt after plowing through several more droids. He unbuckled himself from his seat and got out. R2 ejected himself from the astro-mech slot as Anakin extended his blade and climbed off of the fighter.

"There they are. Get 'em," a security droid said before he and his companions pointed their blades at the two Jedi and opened fire.

The droids rushed the two Jedi in an attempt to subdue them, but they were cut apart. The screams and groans of dying battle droids filled the hanger. The Two Jedi expertly deflected any laser bolt that came their way and cut their way through the droids in order to meet in the middle. They stood back to back and began to deflect the droid's firepower back at them.

R2 beeped a question as the Jedi stood back to back.

"R2, locate the chancellor," Obi-Wan ordered as they continued to fight off the enemy droids.

R2 beeped a reply and went to plug into the computer interface nearby.

A few seconds later, the Jedi twirled their sabers around before they put them away, just as the last few droids collapsed to the ground with a loud clang.

R2 whistled as he projected an image of the Invisible Hand. A red light blinked at the top of a spire on the aft section of the ship, just above the hanger they were in.

Obi-Wan pointed to the red light at the top of the spire. "The chancellor's signal is coming from right there. the observation platform at the top of that spire".

Anakin looked around as he felt a disturbance in the force. "I sense Count Dooku," he said.

"I sense a trap," Obi-Wan said.

Anakin turned to face Obi-Wan. "Next move?" He asked.

Obi-Wan turned to face Anakin and smiled. "Spring the trap".

R2 backed away from the computer and whistled as he began to follow them.

"R2, go back. I need you to stay with the ship," Anakin said.

"Here, take this..." Obi-Wan said as he pulled a com-link from his belt and tossed it to R2, who caught it. "...and wait for orders".

R2 beeped a disapproving reply as the two Jedi walked out of the hanger.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Invisible Hand, Command Deck, Coruscant Orbit_.

On the bridge of the Invisible Hand, a door opened to reveal General Grievous and two of his magna-guards. Grievous growled and began to cough as he stepped onto the bridge, which was filled with battle droids and neimoidien crew members. The cyborg supreme commander stepped onto the bridge, his metal talons clanging on the metal deck.

He continued to cough, due to his constricted chest, which had always been bad, but was now worse thanks to an encounter with Mace Windu down on the surface. he continued to step into the bridge until he stood in front of a Neimoidian who was sitting in a chair in the middle of the bridge.

"What's the situation, Captain?" General Grievous asked.

"Two Jedi have landed in the main hangar bay. We're tracking them," Captain Lushros Dofine said as he showed images of Anakin and Obi-Wan running through the ship's corridors.

"Just as Count Dooku predicted," he said before he coughed. But then he chuckled as he stepped away to observe the space battle around his ship.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Elevator, aft section of the Invisible Hand_.

The two Jedi wait for an elevator to arrive. That's when they heard clanging and rolling from behind them. They turn around and see what's approaching.

"Destroyers," Anakin said as he and Obi-Wan turned to face them.

The three droids unfolded, activated their shields, and started blasting away at the Jedi. Both of them deflect the incoming bolts, which also hit the wall behind them, causing sparks to fly everywhere. The bolts also fly right back into the destroyers, but were absorbed by their shields. Obi-Wan frantically pushes the elevator button several more times before he goes back to deflecting. Finally the door eventually opens, and they rush inside under a hail of laser bolts.

The elevator door slides shut.

All seemed quiet.

That's when both Jedi heard several blasters activate behind them.

"Drop your weapons," someone orders.

The Jedi look over their shoulders to see a squad of battle droids right behind them.

"I said drop 'em." The droid ordered again.

"Roger. - Roger, roger," the droids began to chatter as they prepared to subdue the Jedi.

The Jedi swiftly turn around and start hacking away at the droids with their lightsabers. It wasn't even a fair fight. The droids couldn't even get a shot off. When the last droid is cut in half, the Jedi deactivate their sabers, and then, without a word, they casually began their ascent.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the hanger, R2-D2 notices two super battle droids entering the hangar. He moves and hides behind Obi-Wan's Starfighter.

"Those are Jedi fghters all right," one droid stated as he and his companion moved to begin inspecting the two fighters.

* * *

The elevator begins to move up to the top of the spire before it screeches to a sudden stop.

The Jedi are perplexed.

Obi-Wan and Anakin look at each other.

"Did you press the stop button?" Obi-Wan asked.

"No. Did you?" Anakin asked.

"No".

Anakin looked up at the ceiling and grabbed his lightsaber. "Well there's more than one way out of here," he said as he activated his blade and began to cut a hole in the ceiling.

"We don't want to get out. We want to get moving," Obi-Wan said as he grabbed his communicator to contact R2. "R2, activate elevator 31174".

* * *

Back in the hanger, R2 was still hiding behind an interceptor to avoid the two droids that were inspecting Anakin's fighter. That's when his communicator began to blare out Obi-Wan's voice, which echoed across the hanger.

 _"R2, activate elevator 31174. Come in, R2_." Obi-Wan's voice said.

The SBDs looked around when they heard the voice. "What that?" One asked.

"R2, do you copy?" Obi-Wan asked before R2 placed the com-link inside of his cylindrical body. " _Activate the elevator number 31174_ ," Obi-Wan's said in a muffled voice.

"Get back to work," the other SBD ordered his companion. "That nothin'."

" _Activate the elevator 31174_ ," said a muffled voice from inside R2's body.

* * *

"R2-," Obi-Wan asked again before he looked up just in time to see a metal slab fall from the ceiling, which he barely avoided.

Anakin jumped up through the hole in the elevator ceiling.

Obi-Wan sighed. "Always on the move."

Obi-Wan continues to talk on the com-link to R2.

* * *

"R2, switch on the comlink. R2, can you hear me? R2?" Obi-Wan asked from R2's com-link. **  
**  
R2 tries to muffle the comlink as the two SBDs try to figure out where the voices are coming from. R2 extends an arm and plugs into a computer interface.

* * *

Suddenly, the elevator plummets down the shaft.

Obi-Wan grunts and is thrown to the ground. "R2!" Obi-Wan exclaimed.

Anakin quickly jumps and grabs onto the hallway entry door. He watches as the elevator recedes down the shaft and disappears as he heard his master's voice echo 'R2' throughout the shaft. Anakin struggles to keep his grip on the closed door.

* * *

The elevator starts to descend rapidly.

"Stop, stop! Artoo, we need to be going up," Obi-Wan said.

* * *

Anakin struggles to hang on to the narrow edge of the elevator shaft. The door to the elevator shaft is pried open, and two battle droids appear in the doorway and look down at Anakin. They point their guns at him.

"Hands up, Jedi!"

* * *

The two SBDs overhear Obi-Wan's comlink messages to R2.

"Artoo, do you copy? Artoo, do you hear me? Artoo, we need to be going up, not down."

R2 begins to turn the interface around as he searches for a way to get the elevator moving in the way it needs to go.

* * *

The elevator stops with a jolt. The sudden stop forces Obi-Wan to fall to the floor.

* * *

R2 looks back to see the SBDs marching towards him.

"Hey you!" One of them shouts.

But R2 ignores them and plugs into the interface again.

* * *

The elevator shoots back up the shaft. Obi-Wan stands up after having fallen in the elevator.

"Now, that's better," Obi-Wan said into the comm.

* * *

R2 turns just in time to be held up by one of the SBDs, who chuckle as the little Astromech droid curses and swings at them with his little robotic limbs.

"You stupid little astro droid!" One droid exclaimed.

* * *

Anakin looks down and sees the elevator heading toward him at a high rate of speed.

"Uh-oh!" Said the two droids leaning over him with their guns pointed at him.

He calculates for a moment, then gives himself a push and flips himself up into the elevator shaft.

Before Anakin can arc into a descent down the shaft, the elevator races up through the shaft, cutting the droids in two. Anakin lands on the elevator and quickly drops back through the hole in the ceiling.

Obi-Wan is startled and ignites his lightsaber before turning.

"Oh, it's you," he said as he put his sword away.

* * *

R2 activates his oil hose and sprays the SBDs. The two droids slip on the oil.

"My eyes! My eyes!" One droid exclaimed.

* * *

"What was that all about?"

"Well, Artoo has been ..."

"Eh eh, No loose wire jokes," Anakin said.

"Did I say anything?" Obi-Wan asked.

"He's trying!" Anakin said in defense of R2.

"I didn't say anything!" Obi-Wan said defensively.

* * *

R2 ignites his arm rockets and shoots out of the droid's grip, spraying them both with oil and setting them on fire. The droids slip and slide until they fall, smoldering in the burning oil, while R2 rolls away very casually.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Observation Deck, Aft Spire, Invisible Hand, Coruscant orbit_.

The elevator door opens and the two Jedi carefully make their way into the main room of the General's Quarters. At the far end sits Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, who was looking out of the viewport at the battle that raged all around. Anakin and Obi-Wan move toward the chancellor. As they get closer to Palpatine, they see a somewhat distressed look on the Chancellor's face.

"Chancellor," Obi-Wan said with a bow.

"Are you all right?"

The chancellor looked passed them at the door they just came through. "Count Dooku," he said quietly as he made a small gesture with his hand.

Obi-Wan and Anakin turn around. The elevator doors open and close as Count Dooku strides into the room. He is above the Jedi, standing on a balcony, with two super battle droids escorting him. The Jedi turn to see him. He looks down on the Jedi.

"This time we will do it together," Obi-Wan sad under his breath.

"I was about to say that," Anakin said under his breath as well.

Count Dooku jumps over the balcony down to the main level.

"Get help! You're no match for him. He's a Sith Lord," Palpatine said with a somewhat defeatist additude.

Obi-Wan turned to face the chancellor. "Chancellor Palpatine, Sith Lords are our specialty," he reassured him calmly.

Obi-Wan and Anakin throw off their cloaks and reach for their lightsabers.

"Your swords, please," Dooku said as he walked towards them. "We don't want to make a mess of things in front of the Chancellor".

Obi-Wan and Anakin move toward Dooku.

"You won't get away this time, Dooku," Obi-Wan said as he and Anakin activated their sabers and assumed a fighting stance.

Dooku ignited his own. "Just because there are two of you, do not assume that you have the advantage," Dooku sneered.

Obi-Wan and Anakin charge Dooku. A great sword fight ensues. Both Jedi attack at the same time to keep Dooku on the defensive. As Anakin pushed Dooku back, Obi-Wan moved around to try and flank, forcing Dooku to block and parry from two different directions. But Dooku moved back so that he wasn't between them.

All three combatants faced each other.

Dooku smiled. "I've been looking forward to this".

"My powers have doubled since the last time we met, Count," Anakin said, sizing Dooku up.

"Good. Twice the pride, double the fall".

The Jedi lunge at Dooku and he falls back. But then he managed to catch them in a saber lock. Dooku summons a force push that forces Obi-Wan to slide across the deck. Anakin swiped his blade at Dooku, but the Count ducked and withdrew up the stairs to the elevator, parrying Anakin's strikes.

As they fought, Obi-Wan decided to go up the other flight of stairs to flank Dooku and assist Anakin. But he was blocked by two SBDs, who marched down the stairs, firing their rapid fire wrist blasters. He managed to deflect a shot back into one droid, which fell off of the stairs. But the other one kept marching and firing. But Obi-Wan kept blocking until he sliced the droid into several pieces.

When he was done, he tried to attack Dooku from behind. But Dooku kicked Anakin, sending him flying away until he hit the bulkhead, and then used the force to levitate and choke Obi-Wan. He threw him across the room. Obi-Wan hit the wall and fell unconscious. Anakin struggled to get up, and was forced to watch as Dooku used the force to bring a catwalk down on Obi-Wan's unconscious body.

Anakin leaps from his position and kicks Count Dooku, sending him over the balcony. Anakin jumps down, following him down to the main floor. Count Dooku and Anakin continue the fight.

The two combatants are caught in a saber lock.

"I sense great fear in you, Skywalker. You have hate, you have anger, but you don't use them," Dooku lectures.

Anakin regains his composure and attacks Dooku, pushing the Dark Lord back. Their fighting becomes even more intense as Anakin attacked the Count with a renewed ferocity.

Anakin and Dooku continue their fight. It is intense! Finally, while caught in a saber lock in front of Palpatine, Anakin pushes Dooku's blade down and moves his own blade up to slice through the Count's hands. Dooku gasps in shock as he loses his hands.

Anakin looks up and catches Dooku's blade from the severed Sith Lord's hand. Dooku collapses to the floor on his knees as Anakin puts the two lightsabers to his neck. Palpatine is grinning as he watches Count Dooku's defeat.

Good, Anakin, good," Palpatine said. "Kill him," he said causing Dooku to glance over at him with terror in his eyes. "Kill him now!"

Anakin looked at Dooku. "I shouldn't".

"Do it!" Palpatine ordered.

Anakin looked into Dooku's terrified eyes and slashed his blades through Dooku's neck. His head rolled to the ground, stopping next to his fallen, headless, and handless corpse. A huge explosion somewhere deep in the ship rattles everything, symbolic for what had just happened.

The young Jedi felt like he was in a trance.

"You did well, Anakin. He was too dangerous to be kept alive," Palpatine said.

Anakin drops Dooku's lightsaber, moving to Palpatine.

"Yes, but he was an unarmed prisoner," he said as he raised his hands toward Palpatine, who is strapped into the chair. The Chancellor's restraints pop loose. "I shouldn't have done that, Chancellor. It's not the Jedi way."

Palpatine stands up, rubbing his wrists.

"It is only natural. He cut off your arm, and you wanted revenge. It wasn't the first time, Anakin. Remember what you told me about your mother and the Sand People," Palpatine said, causing Anakin to hear the war cry of a Tusken raider, and think of his mother dying in her arms. "Now, we must leave before more security droids arrive."

Anakin rushes over to Obi-Wan, lifts the catwalk section from on top of him, and pulls him free. He kneels down and checks out his unconscious friend. Palpatine heads for the elevators.

"Anakin, there is no time. We must get off the ship before it's too late".

"He seems to be all right," Anakin said, checking his friend's pulse and looking for broken bones.

"Leave him, or we'll never make it," Palpatine said somewhat impatiently.

Anakin looked up at him. "His fate will be the same as ours," he said before he picks up Obi-Wan, slings him over his shoulder, and heads for the elevators.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Invisible_ _Hand, Command Deck, Coruscant Orbit_.

Meanwhile, back outside of the ship, Republic and Separatist warships continue to hammer away at each other, fighting for control of the space around Coruscant.

One Republic Star-Destroyer, the _RSV Guarlara_ , and the _Invisible Hand_ were heading straight for each other. They were preparing to broadside one another.

General Grievous stood on the bridge as the two warships headed for each other. He turned to his crew.

"Prepare for attack!"

Suddenly, the Clone gunners on the _Guarlara_ began to fire their cannons into the Invisible Hand. Explosions blossomed against the hull, and the ship began to vibrate as the explosions echoed throughout the ship. One explosion that was close to the Bridge caused several computer terminals to short-circuit and explode, throwing a couple battle droids to the deck.

Captain Dofine flinched before he spoke into his personal intercom. "All batteries, fire! Fire!"

* * *

Down in the _Invisible Hand_ 's gunnery deck, droid gunners began to lob heavy plasma bolts back at the _Guarlara_. Their firepower slammed into the Republic cruiser, causing several explosions to rip through several areas on the _Guarlara's_ starboard side. While the Clones tried to get away from the explosions, many were thrown in several different directions as fire and debris began to fill their sections.

But despite the damage, the _Guarlara_ was just getting started.

* * *

Back on the Invisible Hand, in the observation tower, Palpatine and Anakin, who was holding an unconscious Obi-Wan on his back, were waiting for the elevator. But they noticed that it wasn't coming.

"Elevator's not working," Anakin said, as the ship began to shake violently from the battle outside. He reached for his com-link. "R2, activate elevator 3224".

R2 beeped a reply as he went to do as Anakin asked.

* * *

Back outside, the Guarlara and the Invisible Hand were exchanging fire with one another. It was an all out brawl, as both ships traded fire with one another. Blue and red plasma blasts slammed into either side's hull, causing explosions to blossom along their hulls, blasting chunks and slivers of debris off of each other's hulls. Fires began to rage outside, as well as within.

When neither ship seemed like they were going to relent, one clone gunner was able to fire a shot straight into one of the ship's gunnery stations. The blue ball of plasma hit a cannon on the Invisible Hand. It was engulfed in a large explosion, which ignited dozens of ammo canisters that were nearby. The explosion blasted droid pieces and debris everywhere, and blew holes out of the side of the ship, causing the vacuum of space to suck out everything nearby that wasn't bolted down. But that wasn't the end of the damage. The explosion also caused the engine section to be knocked out.

The _Invisible Hand_ began to lose altitude and nose dive to the surface.

The _Guarlara_ was triumphant.

Those inside the Invisible Hand on the other hand ... not so much.

* * *

As the elevator doors began to open, Anakin and Palpatine nearly fell forward when they felt the ship suddenly lurch. But they were able to grab onto the door frame to keep themselves from falling towards the viewport. They climbed into the elevator shaft, which they began to run down since the ship was on a different angle.

* * *

Down in the mail hanger, R2 had just unplugged himself from the interface and began to slide across the deck as the ship took a dive.

"DEEOOOOWWWW!" He screamed as he, several droid pieces, and the two Jedi interceptors began to slide with him.

* * *

Back on the bridge, as an alarm blared throughout the falling ship, the Droid crew was doing everything they could to stop the ship's descent.

"Reverse stabilizers," Captain Dofine ordered.

"Reversing stabilizers," one of the droid pilots replied as it began to press buttons on the terminal screen to get the ship's functions to respond.

* * *

R2 slid down the deck, which was now completely vertical.

He is about to be overtaken by Obi-Wan's Jedi interceptor, which was sliding down right behind him. He falls into a heap of broken battle droid parts and the fighter falls over him, before bouncing off the deck with a loud clang.

* * *

"Magnetize! Magnetize!" Captain Dofine ordered.

A droid pilot tapped the screen in front of him to engage the ship's magnetic field.

* * *

While holding an unconscious Obi-Wan over his shoulder, Anakin continued to run down the horizontal elevator shaft with the Chancellor right behind him.

* * *

General Grievous is latched onto the hull with his clawed feet, too keep himself from falling. His guards use magnetic feet to do the same. Grievous starts barking out orders in an effort to save his doomed flagship.

"Fire the emergency booster engines!"

The engines fire, but they are firing in a reverse thrust, trying to slow the ship's descent. It's successful, and because of Dofine's quick thinking earlier, the droids regain control of the ship and they pull up, allowing the ship to right itself.

"We're levelling out, sir," one of the droids said.

* * *

Anakin and Palpatine stop when they reach one of the elevator doors. Anakin cuts a control box on one of the doors and tries to hot-wire the door to open. But before he can get to work on opening the doors, the ship moves to an angle, causing Anakin and Palpatine to start sliding down the shaft.

"AHH!" Anakin exclaims.

"Ohh!" Palpatine exclaims.

Right when they began to slide down the shaft, Anakin grabs some wires in the control box with one hand. Palpatine grabs onto the Jedi's leg. As the ship rights itself, they are left hanging in the bottomless elevator shaft.

* * *

The Invisible Hand was now flying safely below the bulk of the space battle. But with the damage they sustained and with Coruscant's gravity, the ship probably didn't have much longer to live. It would soon be a prudent coarse of action to transfer the flag over to a nearby Separatist warship.

* * *

Obi-Wan began to regain consciousness. He slowly opened his eyes and realized that all of the blood had been flowing to his head. He looked around and noticed that he and his companions were handing precariously over a bottomless elevator shaft.

"Wha-ah!" Obi-Wan exclaimed as he leaned up and threw his arms around Anakin before he even thought of looking down again.

"Easy. We're in a bit of a situation here," Anakin said as they continued to dangle over the shaft.

"Did I miss something?" Obi-Wan asked as he looked down and saw the Chancellor hanging from Anakin's leg.

That's when they heard a loud screeching sound above them.

"Hold on," Anakin said as he looked up and saw something heading towards them.

"What is that?" Obi-Wan asked.

That's when they saw that it was a box-like object that was sparking as it slid towards them. They then realized that it was the elevator.

"Oops," Anakin said before he reached for his com-link. "R2. R2, shut down the elevator".

"Too late. Jump!" Obi-Wan exclaimed.

Anakin let go and began to slide down the shaft. Obi-Wan let go of Anakin to slide on his own, while Palpatine still held onto Anakin's leg as they all slid down the shaft, with the elevator close on their heels.

As they continued to slide and barely outrun the elevator, Anakin and Obi-Wan reach for their utility belts and take out their grappling hooks. They throw them up, where they latch onto a steel beam and they continue to fall. All the doors in the elevator shaft open up, and the group swings through the open door into a hallway. The elevator roars by as they land in the ship's corridor.

They all grunt as they catch their breath. but at least they're not dead.

Obi-Wan got up and dusted himself off.

"Let's see if we can find something in the hangar bay that's still flyable,' he suggested as Anakin and Palpatine got up.

"R2, get down here," Anakin said into his com-link. "R2, do you copy?"

R2 beeped a reply from the other side of the com-link and went to go find the others.

* * *

A droid pilot walked up to Grievous, who was coughing.

"General, we found the Jedi. They're in hallway 328," the droid informed.

Grievous turned to face the droid.

"Activate ray shields".

* * *

The two Jedi and the Chancellor ran through the halls to get to the hanger. Suddenly, an energy field surrounded them, forcing them to stop.

"Ray shields," Anakin said.

"Wait a minute," Obi-Wan said. 'How did this happen? We're smarter than this".

"Apparently not," Anakin said. he looked around and looked at Obi-Wan. "I say patience".

Obi-Wan crossed his armed and looked at Anakin with a confused, and somewhat irritated, look. "Patience?"

"Yes. R2 will be along in a few moments, and then ... he'll release the ray shields," Anakin deduced.

Suddenly, they heard a door hiss open. R2 came out of the door screaming loudly. He barreled into the corridor and hit the opposite wall.

"See?" Anakin asked. "No problem".

Suddenly, a pair of destroyer droids rolled out of the door R2 just came out of before the unfolded and aimed their weapons at the imprisioned trio. Then, more and more droids began to march out of the side hatches and down the hall, completely surrounding everyone.

"Don't move," one SBD ordered R2 as he aimed his wrist blaster at him. Then R2 shocked him in the hand. "OW!" The droid exclaimed before he shook his hand and kicked R2 to the ground.

As more droids marched down the hall, Obi-Wan leaned in towards Anakin.

"Do you have a plan B?"

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Invisible Hand, Command Deck_.

The battle above Coruscant is still raging hard all around the _Invisible Hand_. But it keeps passing through, trying to avoid another confrontation like the last one.

Grievous turns towards the door just in time to see his security droids bring in his knew prisoners.

"Ah, yes. The negotiator, General Kenobi. We've been waiting for you," Grievous said as his long-time rival was escorted onto his command bridge in binders, along with another Jedi, the Chancellor, and a little pipsqueak astro-mech droid.

"Excuse me," a battle droid commander said as he pushed through the prisoners to get to Grievous, where he then presented the General with a pair of lightsabers that were confiscated from the Jedi prisoners.

"That wasn't much of a rescue," Grievous mocked as he swiped the lightsabers way from the droid commander.

"You're welcome," the droid said in a snarky manner.

"And ... *cough cough* ... Anakin Skywalker," Grievous said as he walked up to the "Hero with no fear" as he was called by Republic propaganda. "I was expecting someone with your reputation to be a little... older," Grievous mocked before he wheezed.

Anakin looked at the cyborg warlord in the face and maintained his cool. "General Grievous. You're shorter than I expected," he quipped.

Grievous gave the young Jedi a death stare before he coughed.

"Jedi Scum!" Grievous snarled as he turned away.

"We have a job to do, Anakin," Obi-Wan said a she leaned closer to Anakin. "Try not to upset him".

R2 beeped a couple times and retracted his third leg to stand up straighter. He beeped a little nervously. But Anakin looked down at him reassuringly.

Grievous coughed again before he spoke. "Your lightsabres will make a fine addition to my collection,' Grievous said as he reached into his cape and placed his blades in a pouch, right in front of the three that he captured from three other Jedi. Shaak Ti, Foul Moudama, and Roron Corobb.

"Not this time," Obi-Wan announced. "And this time, you won't escape".

"R2," Anakin said.

The little droid creates a distraction by extending all his arms, shooting out electrical pulses that started bouncing everywhere.

Obi-Wan, with his hands restrained with electrobonds, spins around, reaches out and, using the Force, yanks his lightsaber out of the General's cape, ignites it, and cuts his bonds. He continues to spin around and cuts Anakin free.

"Crush them!" Grievous ordered his guards as he moved behind them. They activated their electro-staffs and moved towards the two Jedi. Anakin reaches out with the force and pulls his own sword out of Grievous' cape. "Make them suffer!" The two guards engage Obi-Wan and Anakin. They eventually split up, and the two duels become separate.

"Come. Now!" A battle droid ordered as he and his companion pull on Palpatine's shackled wrists and began to pull him off of the bridge.

"Stay at your stations!" Grievous ordered as he shoved one of his droids towards the Jedi.

Anakin is pushed back by his opponent. A crackling staff clashed with a laser sword. "Get him! Get him!" One droid called out as the two walked and dueled behind him as they walked passed his station.

Obi-Wan managed to catch his opponent in a saber lock. He uses his blade to circle the staff all the way around and pin it to a droid computer nearby. "OW!" the droid exclaimed as electricity passed through his hands. When Obi-Wan had the guard's staff pinned down, he quickly slashed his blade through the droid's head. He began to walk away, but then he heard the staff crackling behind him. He turned back to see the headless guard still trying to fight him. The surprised Jedi went back to fighting the droid.

On the other side of the bridge, Anakin managed to cut his opponent in half at the waist. He then turned to the two droids who were trying to pull the Chancellor off of the bridge. He walked up, and before they could fire on him, he swung his blade up and down on either side of the chancellor, cutting through both droids. He then got behind the Chancellor and managed to cut through his restraints. Obi-Wan managed to slice through the headless guards body and cut off his staff wielding arm. He walked away. Two droids were watching the entire duel. One of them shoved the other one away. "Run!" The panicking droid exclaimed. Obi-Wan looked back to see his opponent finally fall apart and stop whining.

Grievous was speaking to his droids.

"Sir, we are falling out of orbit. All aft control cells are dead," one droid said.

"Stay on coarse," Grievous ordered. Then he noticed that some droid pilots were staring at the Jedi. He called out to them. "Don't bother with them," he barked, getting their attention. "Keep the ship in orbit".

"Yes, sir," one droid said before he was chopped up by Obi-Wan, who, along with Anakin, was chopping up his remaining droid pilots apart.

 _"We've run out of time,"_ Grievous said to himself, realizing that the ship was lost. He ran off to the starboard side of the bridge. He jumped over a console and grabbed a staff from one of his fallen bodyguards. That's when Obi-Wan and Anakin cornered him. They try to rush at him.

"You lose, General Kenobi," Grievous said before he plunged his staff into the viewport.

It began to crack open. Anakin and Obi-Wan grab ahold of something as it shatters open, causing chaos as everything that is not nailed down is sucked into space. The cyborg General is the first one sucked out into space. He fires a cable from his arm that attaches to the ship. He swings in and lands firmly on the side of the ship.

Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Palpatine hold on for dear life. A blast shield closes around where the window used to be, allowing the Jedi to breath in as they plant their feet back onto the deck.

* * *

Grievous opens up a hatch from the outside, and jumps in. He jumps into an escape pod.

"Hahahahah!" He laughed as he sat down. "Time to abandon ship".

He punched in several buttons and jettisoned his pod, fleeing his doomed flagship. Several others with his surviving crew followed. He chuckled as he flew through the battle towards a nearby Lucrehulk-class Trade Federation battleship.

Then he coughed.

* * *

Back on the now deserted bridge, Obi-Wan and Anakin go over to the navigator's chair.

"All the escape pods have been launched," Anakin noticed.

"Grievous," Obi-Wan deduced before he turned to Anakin. "Can you fly a cruiser like this? "

"You mean, do I know how to land what's left of this thing?" Anakin asked as sits in the pilot's chair.

"Well?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Under the circumstances, I'd say the ability to pilot this thing is irrelevant. Strap yourselves in," he said.

Obi-Wan and Palpatine strap themselves into chairs. Anakin struggles with the controls of the ship. The ship starts to glow, and pieces break off. R2 moves in on Palpatine's controls and plugs in to assist in flying the cruiser.

"Steady . . . Attitude . . . eighteen degrees," Obi-Wan read.

R2 beeps.

"Pressure rising. We've got to slow this wreck down. Open all hatches, extend all flaps, and drag fins," Anakin called out.

"Temp steady. Hatches open, flaps extended, drag fins," Obi-Wan called out, as he hit the controls, causing several fans to extend from the hull of the ship.

The ship glowed orange as it began to fly into atmosphere. Suddenly, a large jolt shakes up the ship as the aft section of the ship breaks away.

R2 whistles out an ' _Uh-Oh!_ '

Anakin casually turned to Obi-Wan with a blank stare. "We lost something," he said very calmly.

"Not to worry, we're still flying half the ship," Obi-Wan said calmly.

"Now we're really picking up speed," Anakin said as the bow section began to slice through the atmosphere and plunge towards the planet below. 'I'm going to shift a few degrees and see if I can slow us down".

"Careful, we're heating up-twelve thousand, thirteen thousand..." Obi-Wan called out before Anakin interrupted him.

"What's our speed?" Anakin asked.

"Eight plus sixty-forty. Eight plus sixty-twenty. Eight plus sixty. Temp is ten thousand, nine thousand . . . we're in the atmosphere," Obi-Wan called out.

Anakin points to one of the controls.

"Grab that," he told Obi-Wan, who grabbed onto a lever that Anakin pointed out. "Keep us level".

They stopped burning from re-entry and began to knife through the clouds, shedding burning debris as they continued to plunge towards the metropolis surface below.

"Steady. Steady," Obi-Wan said calmly.

R2 begins to beep madly.

"Easy, Artoo. Hang on, this may get a little rough. We lost our heat shields," Anakin informed.

"Five thousand. Three thousand . . . two thousand," Obi-Wan said. Then he saw aircraft from the fire-department coming their way. "Fireships on the left and the right."

 _"We'll take you in,_ " one of the fire-pilots called in over the comm.

"Copy that," Obi-Wan replied as the fireships began to spray water onto the hull, trying to cool down the ship before it landed. "Landing strip's straight ahead," Obi-Wan pointed out.

"We're coming in too hot," Anakin said as an alarm began to blare out as the ship cam up on the surface.

The ship leaves a contrail as it streaks across the Coruscant skyline. Palpatine and Obi-Wan hold on for dear life as Anakin tries to pilot the shaking and rattling ship toward an industrial landing platform. A large landing platform in the industrial part of the city is surrounded by Emergency Fire Speeders. The smoking ship approaches as five Fireships spray it with foam. The ship finally makes a rather hard landing.

R2 screams and everyone is nearly thrown out of their seats as the ship smashed against the landing strip and scraped across it. The ship slices through an abandoned control tower as they continued to scrape against the deck. But eventually, the ship finally comes to a screeching halt. They stop, and everyone nearly falls out of their seats before being thrown back into them with a sudden jolt.

R2 beeps excitedly, yet nervously. Palpatine held onto his armrests with a death grip as he panted. Anakin sighed and looked around to make sure that everyone was okay.

Obi-Wan sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He smiled and looked at everyone else.

"Another happy landing".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant, Senate Building_.

The small Shuttle carrying Palpatine and his Jedi rescuers arrives at the landing platform. There are a dozen senators, including Bail Organa, Jar Jar Binks, and C-3PO, waiting for them. Palpatine, R2-D2, and Anakin get out. But then Anakin turned back and noticed that Obi-Wan was staying in the doorway of the Shuttle.

"Are you coming, Master?" Anakin asked.

"Oh no. I'm not brave enough for politics. I have to report to the Council. Besides, someone needs to be the poster boy," Obi-Wan said.

Anakin turned to face him, shaking his finger

"Hold on, this whole operation was your crazy idea. You planned it. You led the rescue operation. You have to be the one to take the bows this time," Anakin said.

"Anakin, let us not forget that you rescued me from the Buzz Droids. And you killed Count Dooku. And you rescued the Chancellor, carrying me unconscious on your back, and you managed to land that bucket of bolts safely..."Obi-Wan pointed out.

"All because of your training, Master. You deserve all those speeches of your greatness," Anakin said.

"...The endless speeches," Obi-Wan corrected. "Anakin, let's be fair. Today, you are the hero and you deserve your glorious day with the politicians".

Anakin smirked and shook his head.

"All right. But you owe me, and not for saving your skin for the tenth time". Anakin said.

"Ninth time," Obi-Wan corrected. "That business on Cato Nemoidia doesn't count. I'll see you at the briefing".

Obi-Wan turned back into the shuttle, and the door closed behind before it took off for the Jedi Temple.

Anakin smiled before he walked off towards the Senate Building's main entrance.

The Chancellor and his entourage approach Mace Windu.

"Chancellor Palpatine, what a welcome sight! Are you all right?" Windu asked.

"Yes, thanks to your two Jedi Knights. They killed Count Dooku, but General Grievous has escaped once again," the chancellor said.

"General Grievous will run and hide as he always does. He is a coward,' Windu said.

"That maybe true, but with Count Dooku dead, he is the leader of the Droid Army, and I assure you, the Senate will vote to continue the war as long as Grievous is alive," the chancellor said with confidence.

"Then the Jedi Council will make finding Grievous our highest priority," Windu said before he walked with the chancellor into the building with the crowd. But Anakin and Bail Organa stay behind and walk as they talk. Meanwhile, R2 rolls up to a familiar golden face and they walk close behind.

"Skywalker, the Republic cannot praise you enough," Bail complimented as they walked towards the grand entrance.

"Thank you, Senator Organa. The invasion and kidnapping were bold moves by the Separatists, but it was a mistake that Obi-Wan and I were able to take advantage of," Anakin said.

It really was. For months, the CIS was being pushed deeper and deeper into the outer rim until their main worlds became under siege. The surprise attack on Coruscant was a brilliant move and a close call to be sure. But the CIS lost vital warships in this invasion. They also lost the face of their movement, Count Dooku. Now, the CIS was, for the moment, leaderless. And with their worlds under siege, the Republic Navy continued tightening the noose around the Separatist capital, Raxus Secundus.

"It couldn't possibly be as bad as all that," Threepio said, having a conversation with his counterpart.

R2 beeps a reply.

"Well, there, I agree with you. In fact, I could do with a tune-up myself," Threepio said.

Anakin is still at the back of the crowd of Senators, talking with Bail Organa. R2 and 3PO scoot along ahead of them.

"The end of Count Dooku will surely bring an end to this war, and an end to the Chancellor's draconian security measures," Bail said.

"I wish that were so, but the fighting is going to continue until General Grievous is spare parts . . . The Chancellor is very clear about that,"Anakin said.

Behind a row of large columns, a shadowy figure follows the Jedi and the senator. Anakin senses the figure.

"I'll do everything I can with the Senate..." Bail continued.

But Anakin ignored him, catching a glimpse of a familiar figure off to the side.

"Excuse me," Anakin said.

"Certainly," Bail said.

Anakin stops and waits for Bail to go off after Palpatine and the others. Anakin then takes advantage of no one seeing him and goes behind one of the giant columns to meet up with the shadowy figure, who, as it turned out, was his secret wife, Senator Padme Amidala.

They embrace. Anakin then lifted her up and twirled her around before he set her down and kissed her passionately. After a few seconds, they break the kiss and embrace again.

"Oh, Anakin! Thank goodness, you're back," she said.

"I missed you, Padme. I've missed you so much".

"There were whispers..." Padme said, on the verge of tears. "...that you'd been killed. I've been living with unbearable dread".

"I'm back, I'm all right. It feels like we've been apart for a lifetime. And it might have been ... If the Chancellor hadn't been kidnapped. I don't think they would have ever brought us back from the Outer Rim sieges". Anakin said before he went to plant another kiss on Padme's lips. But when his lips barely brushed against hers, she steps back.

"Wait, not here," she begged.

But Anakin ignores her, and grabs her again. He placed a hand on her back and forces to arch her back, pressing her body up against her husband's.

"Yes, here! I'm tired of all this deception. I don't care if they know we're married".

"Anakin, don't say things like that. You're important to the Republic ... to ending this war. I love you more than anything, but I won't let you give up your life as a Jedi for me."

"I've given my life to the Jedi order, but I'd only give up my life, for you".

"I wouldn't like that. I wouldn't like that one bit," she said before she began to playfully scratch her finger against his chest before she pressed her bust against it and rested her hands on his broad shoulders. "Patience, my handsome Jedi." she said seductively. " _Come_ to me later".

Anakin smiles, before he embraces her and smashes his lips against her. She opens her mouth to let his tongue invade hers. But as he allowed his hands to roam her body, something stopped him. He then steps back and looks at her. "Are you all right? You're trembling. What's going on?"

"I'm just excited to see you," she said before she tried to press her own lips against his, but Anakin remained adamant.

"That's not it. I sense more . . . what is it?"

"Nothing . . . nothing . . ."

"You're frightened. Tell me what's going on?" Anakin asked, slightly frustrated.

Padme begins to cry.

"You've been gone for months . . . it's been very hard for me. I've never felt so alone. There's . . ."

"Is there someone else?" He asked suspiciously.

Padme looked at her with her eyes bulging out of her skull. Her own anger began to flare up.

"No! Why would you think that? Your jealousy upsets me so much, Anakin. I would never do anything to betray you, yet you still don't trust me. Nothing has changed".

Anakin blushed.

"I'm afraid of losing you, Padme..." he said sheepishly. "...that's all.

"I will never stop loving you, Anakin. My only fear is losing you".

"It's just that I've never seen you like this".

"Something wonderful has happened". They look at each other for a long moment. "I'm..." Padme stopped. She blushed and averted her eyes before she looked at Anakin again. "Annie, I'm pregnant".

Anakin is stunned. His thoughts begin to travel at lightning fast speed as he thinks through all of the ramifications of this. He then takes her in his arms, her head resting into his chest. He rested his chin atop her head, taking a deep wife of her shampoo as he sniffled.

"That's..." he begins to pant uncontrollably. "...that's wonderful.

"What are we going to do?" She asked as her tears began to get Anakin's clothes wet.

Anakin held her back with one hand, and petted the back of her head with the other.

"We're not going to worry about anything right now, all right? This is a happy moment. The happiest moment of my life".

The two of them continue to embrace as they both begin to think about the rest of their lives.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Sun'dari. Nightfall. End of Day 1 of the siege of Mandalore. Republic/Night Owl base camp near Savage Oppress (formerly 'Peace') memorial park_.

The first day of the battle for Sun'dari was successful. The Republic had secured the docks and have established a foothold in the city's outer suburbs.

And all across the planet, people who've heard Bo-Katan's speech began to rise up and take up arms against Maul's regime. His regime was falling apart at the seams as his forces struggled to maintain order in the other cities across Mandalore. Now the Republic and Mandalorian free forces were camped out for the night after a hard first day of fighting.

Ahsoka was sitting in her room in an abandoned building, that also served as the command center for the allied forces, near the park where they were set up. But even though she wasn't fighting, the sounds of battle still thundered across the city, as artillery fire from both sides was exchanged. Small scale patrols also went out to make sure that the perimeter was secure. Sometimes a clone squad would go out on patrol, and not have been walking for 50 yards when they ran into a shadow collective patrol.

The frontline was that close.

But it didn't bother Ahsoka. She had complete confidence that the outpost was secure. She sat in her reasonably comfortable room. It had a cozy bed (which she tested out) and a desk, which she was currently using to write a letter. The letter was to her boyfriend, Lux Bonteri, the junior Republic senator from Onderon. She hadn't heard from him since she spoke to him over the comm while on Nessem a couple of days ago. He had been on Coruscant at the time of the Separatist invasion and she hoped that he was Okay.

 _Just when I thought the war was going to be over, and I could visit my boyfriend again, I find out that his current residence just became a war-zone_.

Ahsoka shook those negative thoughts out of her head and she continued writing. She continued to write the letter. Normally, unlike most people, she would write using a pen and paper, because se was old-fashioned like that. But since she didn't want to burden some clone with hand delivering her message to a ship, that should've been used for the battle, to be taken all the way across the galaxy to Lux's office on Coruscant, she decided to write a message on her data pad with a stylist.

As she wrote, her stylist left behind digital ink on her screen.

' _Dear Lux.'_

 _I hope that you're all right, and I hope that you get this message. I'm sorry that I haven't been able to reach you lately, and I'm sorry that you haven't heard about my current whereabouts. I was on Nessem, but now I'm on Mandalore (Don't freak out). Long story short, I got chased by pirates all the way to Mandalore's moon, where I landed in the middle of a war-zone (Please don't freak out). __By the way, you're not gonna believe who I ran into ... Bo-Katan Kryze, Pre Visla's former right hand. We met, she told me to contact the Republic for help, and now I'm apart of the invasion (You're probably freaking out now, right?). __Anyway, we were just about to attack Mandalore when we heard about what happened on Coruscant. My masters had to rush back there to help out. That left me to lead the Republic invasion. Can you believe it? My master finally trusts me with an operation. He gave me my old lightsabers back, and command of two clone regiments from my old unit. The troopers-_ ," Ahsoka stopped writing when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Ahsoka said.

The door slid open with a hiss to reveal Captain Rex.

"Hey kid. I-," Rex said.

"Rex, I'm not a kid anymore. You don't have to call me that," Ahsoka complained.

"Right sorry," he corrected himself before he cleared his throat. "The boys are gathered outside. Would you care to join us, Ma'am?" Rex asked using a more formal title to address her.

The two of them have come along way. When she first became Anakin's padawan, Rex was her superior, in his more experienced eyes at least. She had asked him back then if she outranked him as a jedi. To which he replied " _In my book, experience outranks everything"_. Now she was leading Rex and his men into battle. It meant that she'd grown as both a person, a warrior, and a leader.

She thought about what he asked. It's been a while since she sat down with the men outside.

But then she smiled.

"I'd be happy to Rex," Ahsoka said as she got up from the desk. She grabbed her data pad and stylist, so that she could continue her better to Lux.

The two of them walked back outside the hotel and to the park outside.

The park was renamed Savage Oppress memorial, after Maul's late brother, who died while taking the planet with him. A statue had been named in his honor on Maul's orders. Only the legs remained standing, while the rest lied in pieces. A victim of explosive happy Nite Owls.

The park grounds served as a staging area for the Republic and its Mandalorian allies. It was full of Republic speeder, walkers, tents, a field hospital, and even a mess tent. The perimeter was well protected and far out from the main camp. The area was constantly being patrolled by Clone troopers.

Rex led Ahsoka to a small area where Jesse, Tup, Kix, and Hardcase, along with some troopers from Boomer, Kano, Appo, and Coric's squads, were all seated around a medium sized heating unit, which also served as a lantern.

Tup was reading a holo-pad. The screen had several news articles in it. It mostly concerned the War.

Jesse noticed Ahsoka and Rex walk over.

"Commander Tano. Glad you could join us. Please, sit down".

"Yeah, come sit with us regular ol' grunts. Ha Ha," Hardcase said.

"Hey boys," Ahsoka said with a smile before she sat down with the troopers. ' _Her' troopers_. "I see that you've taken my mark," Ahsoka said, referring to the orange markings on there plain white sets of clone armor.

"Yeah," Tup said, as he tapped his own armor. "We wanted to let ya' know that we're with you commander".

"We wanted to show you how much we missed you," Hardcase said.

Ahsoka looked at the plunging orange 'V'-neck that Hardcase painted on his armor before she smirked. "Well, based on your artwork, I can tell that you definitely missed _part_ of me".

Everyone nearly busted a gut when they started laughing.

"So Commander? What've you been up to since you left? Kix asked.

She shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh, not much. I did a little vigilante work, escorted senators, went off to find my old life, took out a CIS destroyer over my home planet, ran away from some pirates. Nothing much," Ahsoka said, very casually.

The clones all stared at her with shocked looks.

"I see your life didn't get boring without us," Boomer said.

"Boring!? My life!? Never,' Ahsoka said.

Her men chuckled.

"Hey guys, check it out," Tup said while reading his holo-pad. "It says here that the _Siege of Coruscant_ has been lifted...and Count Dooku is said to have been killed when our generals went to rescue Palpatine".

"Wait, What?!" Coric exclaimed before he nearly fell out of his seat.

"When you said 'our generals', did you actually mean ' _our_ ' _generals_? Rex asked.

"Yup," Tup said.

"Hm. Skyguy and Kenobi've done it again," Ahsoka said as she pulled her data pad to continue writing her message to Lux.

"Huh, I guess that mean's the war is nearly over. What are we clones gonna go afterward?" one of Kano's men asked.

It was a touchy question. Clones were bread for war. But with the war almost over, then what was next for them?

"Well, after this, the Republic is gonna need the Clone army to keep the peace. So I'm sure you'll still be needed," Ahsoka reassured. "And maybe you can all find someone to settle down with outside of the Military".

They all looked at her. "Thanks commander," Tup said. "And it's good to have you back". They all saluted her.

Ahsoka smiled and continued to write in her letter where she left off.

"- _The troopers have come to trust me. They all depend on me now. I'm gonna do my best to lead them through this mission in one piece. And then when it's all over, I'm going to come find you. I hope to see you soon Luxie. I've missed you so very much and I can't wait to spend time with you. Shore leave is going to be so much more interesting with you, *wink wink*. Until then, know that I love you deeply, now and forever._

 _Sincerely, your little Soka. XOXO._ "

The letter was finished. She tapped the send button and her letter was transmitted across the galaxy to Lux's comm-pad. This time, the message should go through. She heard that their were so many ships battling above Coruscant, that the comm chatter between them overwhelmed the civilian comm chatter. It's why she couldn't speak to Lux earlier.

"What'cha writing over there ma'am?" Jesse asked. Everyone looked at her again.

"Oh, uh, it's..." Ahsoka cleared her throat. "It's a letter to my boyfriend".

"Oh really?" Jesse said as the others started to chuckle.

"All right knock it off," Rex said, but while smiling.

She smiled and blushed while tapping her stylist against the pad.

"It's all right Rex," Ahsoka reassured.

"Awh great! The commander turned around for a few months and has already forgotten about us for another man," one of Boomer's men joked.

"So tell us, who is it?" Kix asked

"Anyone we know?" someone else asked.

"Rex might know him. It's the senator from Onderon," Ahsoka explained as she took out her holo-projector and showed them a holo-pic of her and Lux, who had his arms coiled around her waist, pulling her close.

"OH NOO!" Someone cried out when they saw the picture of the senator holding her.

Everyone burst out laughing.

"You're dating a senator?" Someone asked.

"Awh jeez. If that pretty boy could pull it off, then one us could've taken a shot at it long ago," Hardcase joked.

The others made an 'oooohh' sound. Except the very professional Rex and the squad leaders. But a couple of them did smirk.

Ahsoka arched one brow over the other at Hardcase's comment.

She then got up and walked a few feet away, so that the squad could see her clearly.

The clones looked on in interest.

Ahsoka closed her eyes, crossed one leg over the other, squeezing her thighs together, and placed her hands on her hips before slowly sliding them up her body. She ran them up the side of her head, and clasped her hands her head and struck a sexy pose. She arched her back and pushed her D-cup breasts out. The clones noticed that her nipples poked through the material of her new bodysuit, and her large, soft breasts looked like they were about to tear apart the zipper fastener over her voluptuous chest, which had gotten a wider by quite a bit since she last wore it, her breasts growing significantly since then.

"You boys couldn't handle this," she said in a seductive tone.

All of the clones burst out laughing before they started hooting and hollering for their sexy commanding officer. Ever since she became Skyguy's padawan, she got some risqué glances from some of her troopers. As she became older, her body more heavenly, the troopers became a bit more bold. And since she wasn't a Jedi anymore, she didn't mind showing off a little. It kept the boys inspired.

Ahsoka sat back down for a while and spent time with her men. They shared stories with each other for some time.

She then went back to her room to get some sleep.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **That's chapter 17. Hope you enjoyed.**

 **17777 words. Longest chapter I've ever written.**

 **If it takes a while for me to upload, it's because I'm working on two other stories.**

 **And Please, please, please, don't be afraid to leave a review.**

 **I love hearing what you have to say, as long as it's constructive and non-antagonistic.**

 **This is Grubkiller, over and out.**


	18. Chapter 18-Daydreams and Nightmares

**Have no fear, Grubkiller is here.**

 **Hey folks, here's chapter 18 of 'Fall of the Republic'.**

 **Enjoy.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Outer rim, Utapau, high orbit_.

A Separatist Sheathipede-class transport shuttle came out of hyperspace over the planet Utapau. A vast rocky desert planet dotted with sinkholes. The shuttle continued to fly through the planet's orbit before it descended to the surface, passing through the atmosphere and flying over the sinkhole dotted surface.

At first glance, it seemed like the planet wasn't worth much from a military standpoint.

It had few resources.

No strategic value.

It was basically about as backwater of a planet as you could possibly get.

But it did have a purpose. Otherwise a Separatist shuttle would never have come here in the first place.

The shuttle then flew down into a sinkhole. It flew passed the many landing platforms that lined up the walls of the sinkhole, until it found a large spherical structure that hung above the sinkhole. The shuttle flew into the sphere's hanger bay. It rotated so that the stern was facing the hanger, which was packed to the brim with battle droids that were standing in a perfect square formation.

What was this planet's aforementioned purpose? To serve as a secret base of operations for General Grievous, and a hideout for the Separatist leaders.

With the Separatist's recent failure at Coruscant, they've been falling back deeper into the outer rim. The CIS war council, led by Viceroy Nute Gunray of the trade federation, has been transferred from planet to planet, escaping the Republic's continuous march into the outer rim.

Many Confederate fortress worlds were under siege. And with Count Dooku dead, and a third of the Separatist Navy wiped out over Coruscant, it was only a matter of time before the Separatists were defeated, and the War Councilors ran out of places to run and hide.

On the surface, the Droid Army had the sinkhole planet's capital, Pau city, completely locked down.

The shuttle's door opened, and as the ramp was extending, General Grievous, the supreme commander of the droid army and current head-of-state for the Confederacy, was walking down the ramp before it even touched down. The Separatist Council was there in front of the droid army, watching as Grievous arrived. But he ignored them and stalked off across the hanger in long strides, his metal talons clanking against the deck as he walked. he was followed by a pair of magna-guards.

Grievous had just arrived from the battle of Coruscant.

He was here to receive new orders from his master. The de-facto head of state for the Confederate entered an elevator that took him to a communications center that looked out over the hanger. When the elevator came to a stop, his guards exited and took up positions on either side of the elevator.

The cyborg general walked across the room towards a holo-table. He wheezed as he walked over. When he stopped, he allowed himself to cough and clear his throat. He pressed a few buttons on a blinking council.

A hologram of a hooded figure materialized on the pedestal, the blue light illuminating the dark room.

"Yes lord Sideous," Grievous said as he kneeled before the hologram.

"General Grievous. I suggest that you move the Separatist leaders to Mustafar," Sideous said.

"It will be done my lord," Grievous kneeled again.

"The ending of the war is near, General," Sideous said. "And I promise you, victory is assured".

The confused general looked back up.

"But the loss of Count Dooku?" Grievous asked.

"His death was a necessary loss, which will ensure our victory," Sideous said. "Soon, I will have a new apprentice ... one far younger, and more powerful than Lord Tyranus".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant, Republica 500, Padme's apartment_.

On the planet-wide metropolis of Coruscant, night had fallen. The city lights were already on, showing the people that the city was truly alive. Despite the night sky, just as many air-speeders were crowding the sky lanes as there were in the middle of the day. These speeders were taking their occupants out for a night on the town. Others were taking people back home to be with their families after a long day at work.

But on one apartment at 500 Republica, Padme Amidala was standing in the balcony, brushing her hair. Her husband, Anakin, leans against the wall, watching her lovingly.

Every second he'd was thinking of her. Even while protecting the endless, nameless Outer Rim settlements became a torture. The battles were easy, his longing for her became unbearable. Anakin had never felt more happy in his entire life. Here he was with his wife, who was expecting a child. His child.

No. Their child. A beautiful blessing that was created by their love for each other.

Padme continued to brush her hair as she looked out over the city.

"Annie, I want to have our baby back home on Naboo. We could go to the lake country where no one would know . . . where we would be safe," she turned her head over her shoulder to look at him. "I could go early-and fix up the baby's room. I know the perfect spot, right by the gardens".

While Padme planned out their future, Anakin just smiled as he continued to stare at his wife very lovingly.

'You are so ... beautiful!" He said slowly.

Padme blushed and smiled. She turned around and leaned against the balcony. Her nightgown made her baby-bump much more noticeable. It was a very good look for her. "It's only because I'm so in love," she flirted.

Anakin chuckled. "No, it's because I'm so in love with you," he flirted back.

"So love has blinded you?" She asked.

He grinned and looked at his feet. "Ha ha ha. Well, that's not exactly what I meant..." he said.

"But it's probably true!" Padme said with a smile that showed off her perfect teeth.

They share a laugh.

"I haven't laughed in so long," he said.

Padme walked up to him and lazily laid her arms around his neck. She lazily hung from his shoulders. "Neither have I," she said before they began to kiss passionately. After kissing for a few minutes, they retired to their bedroom.

* * *

 _Padme was suffering. She constantly cried and screamed as if suffering the most painful death possible._

 _There was baby crying in the background_.

 _"Anakin, help me! Help, Anakin! AAAHHHHHH!"_

Suddenly, Anakin awoke from his sleep in a cold sweat. He looked to his right. His wife was laying on her side, safe and sound. Anakin pulled a robe over his shoulders and went down stairs.

He sat there in the dark living room. The lights turned on and made the a little dim, as he looked out the window, over the darkness of night that was out shined by the city skyline. Even after an invasion, the people of Coruscant sped by in the never ending traffic jam that was life.

"What's bothering you?"

Padme asked as she walked up to join him on the veranda. She coiled her arms around his front and placed her head against the back of his neck.

"Nothing," Anakin said as he turned around to face her. He touches the japor snippet around Padme's neck, that Anakin gave her when he was a small boy. "I remember when I gave this to you."

"Anakin, how long is it going to take for us to be honest with each other?"

"It was a dream".

"Bad?"

"Like the ones I used to have about my mother just before she died".

"And...?"

"It was about you".

They look at each other. A moment of concern passes between them.

"Tell me".

"It was only a dream." Anakin said, avoiding the conversation. But Padme gives him a long, worried look. Anakin takes in a deep breath. "You die in childbirth..."

"And the baby?" Padme asked.

"I don't know".

Padme walked in from of Anakin. She stood on her tippie-toes to look at him. She kissed him briefly. "It was only a dream," Padme said as she tried to lead her husband back to bed. But Anakin takes her in his arms.

"I won't let this one become real, Padme".

They embrace, then part.

"Anakin, this baby will change our lives. I doubt the Queen will continue to allow me to serve in the Senate, and if the Council discovers you are the father, you will be expelled from the Jedi Order," she said, going into the conversation that Anakin wanted to put off for as long as possible.

"I know,' he said.

"Anakin, do you think Obi-Wan might be able to help us?"

Her husband looked at her with suspicion. "Have you told him anything?"

"No, but he's your mentor, your best friend . . . he must suspect something," she said.

"He's been a father to me, but he's still on the Council. Don't tell him anything!" He told her.

"I won't, Anakin," she said obediently.

"I don't need his help," Anakin said. He kneeled in front of her swollen stomach and placed the side of his head against it.. "Our baby is a blessing, not a problem".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Royal palace. Darth Maul's HQ, Sun'dari, Mandalore_.

Darth Maul looked at a hologram of the planet. There were blue and yellow triangles that, respectively, represented the Republic and Nite Owl warships in orbit. The blue and yellow boxes in and around Sun'dari represented ground forces. Right on his front door step.

There were also orange dots that represented the cities that were rebelling against him. Pretty much all of them.

" _Lord Maul. The bombers are ready,_ " Rook Kast said over the comm system.

"Good. Send them in". He ordered. "They will regret defying my rule". Maul said under his breath as small red triangles began to move in the direction of the disloyal cities. A holographic simulation showed several of the orange dot cities flickering and disappearing from the map.

He cracked a demonic looking smile while deep in thought.

 _This is just the beginning_.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _RSV Sovereign, in lower atmosphere of Mandalore, near Sun'dari's airspace, before dawn, day 2 of invasion_.

The dawn skies of Mandalore were beautiful.

As the sun started to rise, an orange line ran along the horizon, separating the dark deserts and the dark blue skies over the planet.

On a normal day it would've been beautiful. But this was anything but.

The Shadow Collective forces harassed the Republic naval task force. But it was nothing that they couldn't handle. Republic Frigates and Star-fighters formed a strong net of AA-defenses around the 4 Star Destroyers, the Assault ships, and the supply transports. Blue laser bolts flew in every direction as they fought to hold off Maul's navy. Small frigates, star-fighters, and even suicide freighters flew towards the Republic task force.

Utter gibberish was being spewed from the comm system.

" _There's too many captain!"_

 _"Watch your stabilizer Gold six!"_

 _"Don't let those spike-heads through!"_

 _"What your left_!"

" _Enemy reinforcements, incoming fast from the south_!"

" _I can't shake 'em. I'm Hit! I'm Hit!_ "

 _"Sovereign come in. We could really use your guns!"_

The _Sovereign_ 's gun crews also handled the oncoming enemy fighters with ease.

"Sir! Enemy freighter off our starboard bow," the clone scanning technician exclaimed.

"Fire all main batteries!" Captain Autem ordered.

The starboard cannons at the base of the bridge superstructure turned towards this new threat. It was a heavily armed freighter. It barreled towards the Sovereign's bridge, with the intent to crash into the ship as a suicide ship. But the Republic had taken precautions. They fired on anything that entered their airspace without any prior knowledge.

The Dual turrets on the starboard side turned towards the oncoming ship. Their barrels exploded with a blue flash. The deck rumbled as the powerful cannons cut loose with their ordnance. The blue lances of energy streaked into the dark, early dawn skies above Mandalore's deserts. They blasted holes into the Shadow Collective freighter. Its main reactor was hit, causing a powerful explosion that ripped through the ship's hull from the outside. It started to trail smoke as it started to lose altitude. It crashed into the vast ocean of sand, and debris field of other Shadow collective ships, on the outskirts of Sun'dari.

Maul's ships withdrew from the battle. It was another victory for the Republic.

It was short lived however.

As the Republic fleet inched closer to the city and launched their gunships, the cannons defending the city unleashed Hell upon the Republic fleet.

Several of the gunships were shot down on their way to the surface. They eventually got below the fire and headed for the Republic held docks on the edges of Sun'dari, but the larger ships weren't so lucky.

"Captain," a clone officer yelled. He pointed at a star destroyer that was just hit in it's starboard hanger bay. There was a powerful explosion. "The _Pioneer's_ been hit".

"Sir! One of the supply ships has been hit. It's going down," another clone shouted, as a supply ship was blasted in the bow. The stjot went straight through the ship, causing flames to shoot out of the port and starboard sides before it lost altitude.

"Get us out of range!" The captain ordered. The ship suddenly lurched hard to port, trying to get away from the city's heavy cannons.

This was a recurring episode. The Republic fleet gets attacked by Maul's Mandalorians. Their inferior ships are then driven back, which coaxes the Republic to move towards the city to resupply their ground forces. Then they're driven away by the city's defenses. It was an epic stalemate, and the Republic Navy was paying for it. Fighters were being shot down, Republic warships were taking damage, and supply ships were being shot down.

As the Republic withdrew, a flight of Shadow Collective bombers flew by, just out of range of the Republic cannons.

They fired their missiles before breaking off sharply.

"What are they firing at? We don't have any forces in that direction!" Autem exclaimed.

"I don't know sir but..." A clone said before he froze and looked at the screen in front of him. "...Ah crap! Brace for impact!" He barked out as he hit the alarm. It wailed throughout the ship, telling crew members to brace for impact.

That's when a blinding white light appeared on the horizon. Everyone on the bridge turned away and threw their arms over the faces, shielding their eyes from the blinding flash. Several powerful explosions blossomed like flowers on the horizon. They sent shockwaves in every direction. Then many of the instruments on the bridge acted up before they started functioning properly again.

"What was that? Were we hit?" Autem demanded.

"No sir. They didn't hit us. They bombed the city! I-It...It's just...gone!" The clone stuttered.

Autem had a look of horror on his face as his ships passed through the clouds.

They saw a city off in the distance.

Or what was left of it.

It was burning. A mushroom cloud of smoke rose from the epicenter, casting an ugly shadow on the desert floor. The wind must've shifted because wild fires began to move through the city in a different direction. They stopped at the sand.

"Get me Commander Tano. Things just got a whole lot more complicated," Autem said as he continued to watch the glowing horizon in horror.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Ahsoka's quarters, Republic base-camp_.

It was early dawn and Ahsoka couldn't sleep.

Not because of the artillery that continued to boom in the distance, but because all she could think of was Lux.

All she wanted was to share a bed with her human lover. She forgot about the operation, and the Coruscant invasion, and just started thinking of Lux. She then remembered that there was still a war to fight, and that she was going to be busy for the next few days.

 _'Well, I can still dream,_ ' she thought to herself as she drifted off to sleep, hoping that her ... mmmmh, incredible experience with Lux would bring on a very, very wonderful dream.

* * *

About an hour after Ahsoka fell asleep, she heard someone knocking on her door. She moaned in frustration and was about to pull her pillow over her head. She wasn't ready to get up. But then she heard a familiar voice coming from the other side.

" _Commander, wake up_." Rex urged. " _Something has happened_ ".

* * *

"They did what?" Ahsoka asked, stunned.

A holographic figure of Captain Autem was being broadcast from the _Sovereign_.

" _Maul sent a flight of bombers to a nearby city. They apparently used some form of low yield nuclear weaponry on the city. But they must have used several of them on the city,_ " Autem said. " _It-It's gone"_.

"They're using nukes. Those haven't been used for years," Jesse commented.

"I can't believe they're using WMD's on their own people," Rex said. "Why didn't they target you Captain?"

" _I guess they didn't want to risk being shot down and losing WMD's like that,"_ Autem assumed.

"What kind of person would do that to their own people?" Ahsoka asked, shaking her head back and forth.

A fist was slammed on the holo-table. It got everyone's attention. It was Bo-Katan, who was holding her helmet in her arm, letting her red hair hang free.

"Maul isn't a person. Neither are his followers. They're psychopathic monsters. Tano, mobilize your forces. Autem, use your fighters to stop those bombers. Those animals will pay dearly for what they've done to our people!" Bo-katan said as she stormed out of the tent.

Autem was talking to someone who was out of the view of the people in the tent.

Getting back to the meeting, Autem turned to Ahsoka.

" _Commander. We're getting reports that before Maul bombed his targets, his forces evacuate the city and head in your direction. They're regrouping for a final stand at Sun'dari. If they get there, well, then you'll be driven out of the city. And those guns are still online. We won't be able to support you,_ " Autem warned.

Ahsoka pondered that for a moment.

"Well, until we take out those guns, you can't help us here. Directly at least. Can you and your task force intercept Maul's forces and keep them from entering the city?" She asked.

" _They're coming from more than one direction. We'd have to divide our forces. And then there's the matter of those bombers that we need to worry about_ ," Autem said.

"Then use all of your available fighters to intercept as many of Maul's bombers as possible. And maybe try and see if you can get some Nite Owls from orbit to help you out," Ahsoka suggested to the Captain.

" _We'll see what we can from up here, Commander. In the mean time, good luck down there,_ " Autem bowed before his hologram disappeared.

She turned to Rex.

"Come on Rex. Let's gather the troops. We have a civilization to save," Ahsoka said as she walked out of the tent.

"Yes Ma'am," Rex said as he followed her.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant, Jedi Temple, Yoda's quarters_.

Back on Coruscant, Anakin was in Master Yoda's room. He was sitting on an ottoman in the middle of room, which was dark because of the closed shades. Yoda was sitting across from him on a similar looking seat.

Anakin was here to receive consoling on his dreams. Who better to see about this matter than the wisest Jedi in the galaxy?

"Premonitions? Premonitions...Hmmmm," Yoda moaned as he stroked his chin. "These visions you have..." Yoda started as he waved his hand to Anakin, encouraging the young Jedi to elaborate.

Anakin looked at his knees.

"They're of pain, suffering..." he said before he looked up to meet Yoda's eyes. "...death."

"Yourself you speak of, or someone you know?" Yoda asked as he clasped his hands together.

Anakin paused, not wanting to answer at first. But then he decided to take the risk and answer.

"Someone..." Anakin finally said.

"...close to you? Yoda pressed.

Anakin tucked his arms in a little harder before his head lowered, causing him to look at his knees again.

"Yes."

"Careful you must be when sensing the future, Anakin," Yoda said as he waged his finger at him. "The fear of loss is a path to the dark side".

Anakin looked up up averted his eyes off to the left before he finally looked at Yoda.

"I won't let these visions come true, Master Yoda," Anakin said.

"Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them, do not. Miss them, do not. Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed, that is," Yoda lectured.

"What must I do, Master Yoda?"

"Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose," Yoda concluded.

Anakin looked down at his lap again as he soaked in what master Yoda told him.

 _'Letting go of the people I love? Letting go of Padme?' I could never do that. There has got to be another way'._

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **That's chapter 18 folks**

 **I want to start making chapters shorter.**

 **Also, I once said that it would take time before I updated again, but I'm having fun with this story.**

 **I guess I'll just update a certain story when i fell like it.**

 **Anyway, Next time: Siege of Mandalore continued. The Jedi don't trust Palpatine. Tune in next time for another exciting chapter in this story.**

 **This is grubkiller, over and out.**


	19. Chapter 19-Friction Increasing

**Have no fear, Grubkiller is here.**

 **Hey folks. Here's chapter 19 of 'Fall of the Republic'.**

 **Please enjoy.**

 **PS: Review if you want. Your feedback is always appreciated.**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own any media that I use. So please God, don't sue me.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant, Jedi Temple_.

Anakin ran through the large, ornate halls of the Jedi Temple. He was on his way to an important meeting in the Temple's briefing room.

He rushed down the hall that led to the Briefing Room. By the time he reached the Chamber, the last of the Jedi were already leaving. But he walked in anyway. Only Obi-Wan remains at the front of the lecture hall. He is shutting off some holograms and electronic charts and maps.

"You missed the report on the Outer Rim sieges," Obi-Wan said without turning around, still shutting down the computers and holo-tables.

"I'm sorry, I was held up," he lowered his head a little. "I have no excuse".

Obi-Wan still didn't turn his head. "In short, they are going very well. Saleucami has fallen..." Obi-Wan said as he finally turned to face Anakin. "...and Master Vos has moved his troops to Boz Pity".

"What about Mandalore?" Anakin asked, wanting to know how his padawan - no, former padawan - was doing.

"We don't have much, but there are reports of heavy fighting, and Darth Maul implementing some kind of scorched earth policy. It's nothing but chaos. But Ahsoka and her men have established a foothold in the capital. They should be continuing their advance as we speak," Obi-Wan informed.

"That's good. What's wrong then?" Anakin asked.

Obi-Wan crossed his arms over her chest, and he had a look of disbelief written on his face. "The Senate is expected to vote _more_ executive powers to the Chancellor today.

"Well, that can only mean less deliberating and more action. Is that bad? It will make it easier for us to end this war," Anakin said, not seeing the downside of this new proposal of the senate giving more power over to the person that Anakin, perhaps, admired too much.

"Anakin, be careful of your friend Palpatine," Obi-Wan said with concern as he walked passed Anakin and started going up the stairs.

"Be careful of what?" Anakin asked as he turned and followed him.

"He has requested your presence," Obi-Wan answered.

"What for?"

"He would not say".

"He didn't inform the Jedi Council?" Anakin asked as they made it to the top of the stairs. They stood in the doorway. "That's unusual, isn't it?"

"All of this is unusual, and it's making me feel uneasy," Obi-Wan said as he he walked out into the hallway before they continued to conversation. "You're probably aware that relations between the Council and the Chancellor are stressed."

"I know the Council has grown wary of the Chancellor's power, mine also for that matter. Aren't we all working together to save the Republic? Why all this distrust?" Anakin asked, with a hint of naivety sprinkled into his question.

"The Force grows dark, Anakin, and we are all affected by it. Be wary of your feelings."

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Chancellor's office, Senate Building, Coruscant_.

Anakin stands with Palpatine at his office window, which was overlooking the vastness of Coruscant. Several buildings have been destroyed in the recent Separatist Invasion. A brown haze hung ominously over the landscape.

"Anakin, this afternoon the Senate is going to call on me to take direct control of the Jedi Council," Palpatine said as they looked out over the city from the lavishly decorated office, filled with leather furniture, silverly conduits, and red carpeting.

Anakin looked at Palpatine.

"The Jedi will no longer report to the Senate?"

"They will report to me . . . personally. The Senate is too unfocused to conduct a war. This will bring a quick end to things," Palpatine said.

"I agree, but the Jedi Council may not see it that way," Anakin said, a little bit concerned.

"There are times when we must all endure adjustments to the constitution in the name of security," Palpatine said.

"With all due respect, sir, the Council is in no mood for more constitutional amendments," Anakin said.

"Thank you, my friend, but in this case I have no choice," Palpatine said. "This war must be won".

"Everyone will agree on that".

Palpatine smiled and placed his hand on Anakin's shoulder as he began to walk, encouraging Anakin to walk with him.

"Anakin, I've known you since you were a small boy. I have advised you over the years when I could ... I am very proud of your accomplishments. You have won many battles the Jedi Council thought were lost . . . and you saved my life. I hope you trust me, Anakin".

Anakin stopped and they turned to look at each other.

"Of course".

"I need your help, son".

"What do you mean?"

Palpatine continued to walk, and Anakin continued to follow him around the office.

"I fear the Jedi. The Council keeps pushing for more control. They're shrouded in secrecy and obsessed with maintaining their autonomy . . . ideals. I find simply incomprehensible in a democracy".

"I can assure you that the Jedi are dedicated to the values of the Republic, sir".

"Nevertheless, their actions will speak more loudly than their words. I'm depending on you..."

"For what? I don't understand".

Palpatine continued. "...To be the eyes, ears, and voice of the Republic..." Palpatine said. Anakin was still confused as he thought about the Chancellor's words. "Anakin ... I'm appointing you to be my personal representative on the Jedi Council".

Anakin stopped dead in his tracks when he heard what Palpatine just requested. "Me? A Master? I am overwhelmed, sir ..." he said as he walked up next to Palpatine. "... but the Council elects its own members. They will never accept this".

"I think they will. They need you..." Palpatine said. "... more than you know."

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Private Message to Ahsoka Tano's communicator_.

From: Lux Bonteri.

To: My Little 'Soka.

 _Ahsoka._

 _I hope that this message reaches you. As you now, Coruscant has been attacked. But to put your mind at ease, I wanted to let you know that I am safe and sound. You do not have to worry about me (You can thank Saw for that). I've received great news: Count Dooku is dead. This means that justice has been given to everyone that he has ever taken advantage of, including my family and home world. And it also means that the war is almost over. We can, and will, spend time together. But I also understand the decision you've made Ahsoka. Master SkyWalker tells me that you are leading an army liberate Mandalore (Your letter confirmed this). He also told me that you are considering reinstatement into the Grand Army. I couldn't be more proud of you. One of the things that I love most about you is that you have a need to help others (and bust a few heads along the way). No matter what you decide to do, I will love and support you, now and forever. Anyway, I wish you and your men success, and I_ _will be praying for your safe return everyday until you and your men come marching home when this conflict is over._

 _Until then, may the force be with you my love._

 _Sincerley, Lux._

* * *

 _Mandalore. Sun'dari. Republic invasion day 2. twelve hours after Maul's use of WMDs_.

Ahsoka read the message from her lover and sighed. She closed her eyes, leaned against a wall, and held the communicator close to the zip fastener over her chest, sandwiching her breasts against it.

For a moment, the war didn't exist. There was peace. Her lover was safe and sound, and he was waiting for her to return.

 _'Oh the things we'll do to each other once we reunite'_.

Suddenly, a familiar voice ripped her from her fantasies.

"Commander? Are you ready?" Rex asked.

"Oh, uh, of coarse," Ahsoka said as she put her communicator away.

Her troopers stacked up on the door. It led to a Shadow Collective observation post on the top floor of the building that they were in.

"Tup! Breach this door," Rex ordered.

Tup nodded and walked up to the door where he placed a small explosive device on the door. He got out of the way just as it started ticking. It detonated, knocking out the locking mechanism. As the double doors slid open, two clones threw flash-bang grenades into the room. They detonated. Their were screams of pain emanating from the room.

"I can't see," a Mandalorian shouted.

"Now!" Ahsoka ordered as she sprinted through the door, her green lightsabers at the ready. She pounced on the nearest Maul trooper that she could find. As her feet made contact with his torso and she pushed him down, she plunged her blades into his chest, cooking his heart and lungs while slicing through his spine.

When Ahsoka was done she force pushed two troopers out of the sixth floor window, letting them plummet to their deaths.

Her troopers swept the room. Blue blaster bolts illuminated the room.

Outside the window, Bo-Katan and some of her Night Owls broke off from the battle in the sky to lend Ahsoka a hand. The Nite Owl airborne warriors hovered with their jet packs. They aimed their blasters into the room and fired.

Maul's troopers were caught between the Republic and the Nite Owls. Not to mention the jedi that was jumping around. They fell to the ground one by one until the room was clear.

The Nite Owls and the clones swept the room.

All across the room, Maul's troopers littered the floor.

One Nite Owl called out to the rest of the room.

"I've got a live one over here!" He said as he yanked the red armored trooper up by his collar.

He stood on his knees as the Nite Owls surrounded him.

"Please don't kill me," he begged.

"Are you seriously asking us for mercy?" one night owl asked.

The Maul trooper was pushed to the ground by another Nite Owl's foot. "You don't deserve mercy".

"What mercy did you show to our people?" Another Nite Owl shouted.

"Time to die!" Another one exclaimed as he pointed his blaster at the prisoner's head.

Jesse went up to him and blocked him.

"Wait, Wait! He can help us," Jesse said, trying to keep his allies from unleashing a world of hurt on every Maul trooper they get their hands on.

But Kryze's people didn't want to hear it. They were still pissed at how these Shadow Collective warriors were just letting Maul nuke the planet.

"Help us?" The disgusted warrior said before he blasted the prisoner in the face. "He can die for us".

Hardcase threw his arms up. " _Pfft_!" Well we can't get any information now".

Ahsoka was in utter shock.

The Nite Owls stepped out onto the deck to get ready to fly. They were going to rejoin their fellow warriors in the air to fight the super commandoes that were loyalty Maul.

Ahsoka, with her troopers behind her, stepped out to confront Bo-Katan.

"Kryze!" Bo turned around to face Ahsoka. "What are you doing? This isn't war. This is murder".

"No! What Maul's doing is murder. What we're doing is justice. That's how war is fought!" Bo said.

"I can't accept that. You can't just go around and shoot everyone that works for Maul. Especially when they are surrendering. That's not how you win over hearts and minds," Ahsoka said.

"You don't understand..." Kryze started to say before Ahsoka cut her off.

"No! I do understand. A year ago, my people were enslaved by Zygerrian slavers who were working for the Separatists. They committed terrible atrocities against my people. But did I go around killing every Zygerrian and their mother in the name of " _justice_ "? NO! I showed restraint. And you need to do the same if you want this planet to side with you after this is over. And may I remind you that you called for our help? If you want to keep getting it, then you'll show mercy. Because we came here to stop a madman and liberate a planet. Not kill everyone who stood against us along the way," Ahsoka said.

A couple of Nite Owls stepped forward, as if to be intimidating. A few clones copied them. The tension between the two sides was so thick that it could be cut with a knife.

"Fine. We'll do it your way Tano. For now!" Kryze said as she jetted away. Her warriors followed. Ahsoka coughed and waved the trail of smoke away from her.

She and the clones were left alone on the roof.

"Nice one commander," Rex complimented.

Suddenly several balls of blue plasma slammed into the building across the street.

"This is insane! Our boys on the big guns are tearing the city apart!" Kix shouted out.

"Everyone get inside," Ahsoka ordered as they went inside. "We'll cut through the buildings, head down to the street, and link up with the rest of the others".

Ahsoka and her men moved through the buildings, clearing them out one by one until they made it to street level.

* * *

They were soon in a warehouse at the bottom floor of a building that was near the Republic column. The whine of blaster fire filled the streets as both sides continued to hammer each other.

Ahsoka and her troopers pushed Maul's troopers out of the warehouse and into the streets. They fell back up the road with their comrades.

"Keep moving! We've got to take this road. It'll lead us straight to the palace," The newly promoted Lt. Appo, who was leading the armor, yelled out with his hand pointed in the direction of Maul's forces.

The AT-TE's stomped forward on their six jointed legs. They fired their weapons as they went.

Ahsoka placed herself in front of the tanks, using her lightsabers to deflect multiple shots that came her way as she slowly walked forward. Rex and the other Clones advanced as well. Republic forces laid down heavy fire on the retreating Shadow Collective troopers.

Maul's forces continued to fall back to the end of the street, firing back as they went.

Explosions rocked the buildings. Dust and debris fell from rooftops into the street below.

That's when the Republic came up on an intersection. It had a road that led directly into the Palace.

"There's our objective. Keep moving forward!" Ahsoka ordered.

Suddenly, a storm of yellow tracers exploded from the front of the 4 story building that overlooked the intersection. Several rockets flew towards the Republic armored column.

"Incoming!" Rex shouted.

The Clones dove behind whatever cover that they could find. Others just threw themselves flat against the ground. Ahsoka dove to the ground just as the missiles streaked over her head and hit the cockpit of the lead AT-TE behind her. It's front exploded, before it collapsed. Shrapnel from the explosion flew everywhere. Some shards dinged as the hit the street around Ahsoka.

She got up in order to rally her men.

"Troopers, throw everything you have into the building!" Ahsoka shouted.

The clones moved up, firing on the building that the Shadow Collective controlled. The Building was a fortress. Rockets and laser bolts continued to fly out of the window and into the Republic column. The Tanks were pinned down and couldn't move.

Troopers continued to fire back, but they didn't seem to be having an effect.

Ahsoka continued to deflect laser bolts back at the building, but Maul's troopers were well concealed by the window. As a new volley of rockets streamed out of the windows, an idea popped into her head. After deactivating her sabers, Ahsoka ran towards the volley of rockets.

She stopped, held her position, and channeled the power of the force into her hands. When the rockets got closer, she spun around in a 360 degree circle and propelled a powerful shockwave in the direction of the incoming missiles.

The rocket propelled projectiles were flung back in the direction of building. They smashed into the side of the building and exploded. The windows that exploded were the ones that the rockets were fired from.

Ahsoka pointed to the building

"Light that place up!" She shouted.

Lt. Appo was in front of the armor making a hand signal. He pointed his hand towards the armor. "Open FIRE!" He shouted.

The AT-TEs marched forward, firing their powerful mass drivers and forward blasters into the building. Powerful blue cannon blasts pounded the building repeatedly. Holes were blasted into the siding. The enemy fire coming from the AT-TEs' target was thinning out rapidly.

Soon, the top floors collapsed down to the bottom floor. The space below was filled in with debris. The air pockets in the bottom floors pushed out in every direction, dust exploded out of the building with the air. A massive dust cloud filled in the street, obscuring everyone's vision.

"Come on, move up. Make sure that the area is clear!" Rex ordered the rest of the troopers in front of the column.

Clones of the 501st moved down the street, scouting out the intersection.

There were corpses everywhere.

Republic troopers lightly nudged the bodies for signs of life.

None.

Suddenly, a series of loud booms echoed across the city and rumbled through the ground beneath them.

"What the Hell was that!" Sgt. Coric said.

"I don't know," Rex said. "But keep your guard up."

A few seconds later

The roar of a dozen jet packs echoed down the street. The sound was getting closer. Bo-Katan flew to the intersection next to Ahsoka, with a dozen of her warriors.

"Tano!" She shouted as she landed.

"What was that Kryze?" Ahsoka asked the ' _Warrior Duchess_ '.

"Maul just detonated several large bombs. He blocked off all of the major routes into the city center," Kryze said before she turned to the road in front of them. "Except this one".

"Why would they do that?" Ahsoka asked as everyone looked down the street.

"Because they're waiting for us down this road," Rex said.

"What do we do now?" Ahsoka asked. "We don't have any heavy equipment to unblock the roads, or the time."

"Well, whatever we do, we need to take out those cannons if we want your fleet to support us, and this is the only way we can get to the main control center that controls all of them..." Bo-Katan said before she inhaled. "...which is on the other side of a bridge down this road".

Everyone looked down the road, which was the only one that was open.

"What are your orders Ma'am?" Rex asked.

"Rex, give the word. Tell the men to advance," Ahsoka said.

Rex nodded before he turned to face his troopers.

"FORWARD MEN!"

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant, Senate Building, Bail Organa's office_.

In the middle of the day, in the office of Senator Bail Organa that overlooked the city, and was over-shadowed by the larger Senate building, Padme, Bail Organa, and senators Mon Mothma, Fand Zar, Giddean Danu, and Terr Teneel were sitting around a table.

"Now that he has control of the Jedi Council, the Chancellor has appointed Governors to oversee all star systems in the Republic," Bail Organa said as a service droid walked over and placed a tray of drinks on the table for the six senators.

"When did this happen?" Fang Zar, the bearded senator from Sern Prime, asked.

"The decree was posted this morning," said with his hands clasped as he looked at Senator Zar to answer his question.

Padme looked at her friend with surprise. "Do you think he will dismantle the Senate?"

"Why bother?" Mon Mothma, from Chandrilia, asked as she shrugged her shoulder. "As a practical matter, the Senate no longer exists".

"The constitution is in shreds," Giddean Danu, the dark-skinned senator of Kuat, stated. Everyone looked at him to let them know that he had their attention. "Amendment after amendment ... executive directives, sometimes a dozen in one day."

"We can't let a thousand years of democracy disappear..." Bail said before he paused. Then he finished. "...without a fight".

Everyone looks at each other, a little worried at the implications of what was just said. They all looked at Bail in stunned silence.

"What are you suggesting?" Terr Teneel, who represented Senex, asked slowly with a hint of shock in her voice.

"Suggesting ... I-I apologize," he stuttered with his hand over his heart. "I didn't mean to sound like a Separatist".

"We are not _Separatists_ trying to leave the Republic," she reassured the senators across the table. She then turned to Bail to let him feel comfortable expressing his opinion. "We are _loyalists_ , trying to preserve democracy in the Republic," Mon Mothma said. Bail nodded in agreement.

"It has become increasingly clear to many of us that the Chancellor has become an enemy of democracy," Bail said, continuing his earlier thought.

"I can't believe it has come to this!" Padme said as she shook her head and looked at each of her colleagues. "Chancellor Palpatine is one of my oldest advisors. He served as my Ambassador when I was Queen".

Everyone looked at her, sensing the disbelief, and slight naivety, in her voice. Giddean Danu leaned over in his seat and clasped his hands and looked directly at her.

"Senator, I fear you underestimate the amount of corruption that has taken hold in the Senate," Danu said. Padme looked down at her lap, contemplating his words.

"The Chancellor has played the Senators well," Mon Mothma spoke up. "They know where the power lies, and they will do whatever it takes to share in it. Palpatine has become a dictator and we have helped him to do it".

Bail Organa got up from his seat. "And we can't sit around debating any longer". He began to pace around in the middle of his office. he walked back and stood between his empty chair and Mon Mothma's chair. "we have decided to do what we can to stop it," he continued as he pointed his hand towards Mon Mothma. "Senator Mon Mothma and I are putting together an organization..."

Padme raised her hands slightly in Bail's direction. "Say no more senator, I understand. At this point, it's better to leave some things unsaid".

Bail nodded. "Agreed". He looked around at his colleagues. "And so we will not discuss this with anyone, without everyone in this group agreeing".

Everyone was stunned into silence. Fang Zar stroked his beard as he sat nervously.

"That means those closest to you..." Mon Mothma said. "...even family," Mon Mothma said as she looked in Padme's direction. "no one can be told".

They all nod their heads. Padme considers this for a moment. Mon Mothma's words about family not being told made her start thinking about Anakin. She loved him very dearly and believed that she could trust him with anything. But she also knew that Anakin was a little too chummy with Palpatine for his own good.

But for now, she simply nodded.

"Agreed".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Council Chamber, Jedi Temple_.

High above Coruscant, in one of the five towers of the Jedi Temple, the Council was in session. Everyone was there. Except for Shaak Ti, who was still recovering from her fight with General Grievous. Plo Koon and Ki-Adi-Mundi were there, but they were attending via hologram. There were two issues at hand. The first one was standing in the middle of the Room.

Anakin Skywalker stood in the exact center of the room, surrounded by the Jedi Council. He has been appointed by Chancellor Palpatine to be his personal representative on the Jedi Council. It was an unprecedented move. The Chancellor can't appoint someone to the Council. Only its members could do that. It was just another example of the Chancellor overstepping his boundaries.

"Anakin Skywalker, we have approved your appointment to the Council as the Chancellor's personal representative," Mace Windu said.

"I will do my best to uphold the principles of the Jedi Order," Anakin said with a bow.

"Allow this appointment lightly, the Council does not. Disturbing is this move by Chancellor Palpatine," Yoda said.

"I understand," Anakin said.

"You are on this Council, but we do not grant you the rank of Master," Mace said out flat, his gaze somewhat icy.

Anakin reacts with anger.

"What?! How can you do this? This is outrageous, it's unfair! How Dare You!?" Anakin exclaimed as he stood, welded to the floor. Everyone in the chamber looked at each other, completely taken aback by Skywalker's reaction. "I'm more powerful than any of you.

The voice that came from his lips wasn't his own. It was deeper, darker, more sinister. Clipped and oiled, resonating from the depths of his heart. It didn't sound like him at all, and it smoked with fury.

"How can you be on the Council and not be a Master?" Anakin asked.

Yoda pointed a finger at Skywalker. "The Chancellor's representative you are. And it is as a representative, this council you shall attend. You will sit in this chamber, but no vote will you have. The Chancellor's views you shall present. His wishes, his ideas, his directives. not your own," Yoda said.

"This is an insult to me, and an insult to the Chancellor," Anakin said, his answer transcending darkness. "I don't imagine that it will be tolerated".

Master Windu stared at Anakin with eyes that were as cold as the voice coming from Anakin's mouth before he challenged. "Take a seat, young Skywalker," he said as he gestured towards an empty chair, still staring at him with cold eyes.

Emotionless, Anakin matched Windu's stare.

' _Perhaps I'll take yours,'_ he thought to himself, his inner voice burning with a hot black fire that smoked from the depths of his burning heart. _'You think you can stop me from saving my love? You think you can make me watch her die?!'_ Anakin screamed in his head.

"Anakin..." Obi-Wan said softly, gesturing to the seat next to him, which Windu had pointed to earlier. "...please".

Something inside Obi-Wan's voice, and his simple straight-forward request, sent his anger slinking off ashamed. Anakin felt himself alone, in the middle of the Jedi Council. He suddenly felt very young, and very, very foolish.

He gave Master Windu a slight bow. "Forgive me, Master," he said before he sulked over to the empty chair next to Obi-Wan. His first day on the Council hadn't even started yet and he already managed to embarrass himself in front of the Council. Anakin sat down as Obi-Wan shook his head. Master Windu continued to stare at Anakin even after he had taken a seat.

With all that nonsense out of the way, they went on to the second item for the meeting: The Outer Rim Sieges.

 _"We have surveyed all systems in the Republic, and have found no sign of General Grievous,"_ master Mundi's hologram said.

"Hiding in the Outer Rim, Grievous is. The outlying systems, you must sweep," Yoda said.

"It may take some time . . . we do not have many ships to spare," Obi-Wan said.

"And we cannot take ships from the front line," Mace said.

"And yet, it would also be fatal for us to allow the droid armies to regroup," Obi-Wan said.

"Our spies contact, we must, and then wait we shall," Yoda said.

" _What about the droid attack on the Wookiees?_ " Master Mundi asked.

Kashyyyk was one of many systems that the Separatist had attacked before the Invasion of Coruscant. It sat at the crossroads of several major hyperspace lanes.

"The only forces we have on the planet is Delta Squad," Mace said, referring to a commando unit that's been conducting Recon/sabotage missions against the local Separatist forces. "It is critical we send an attack group there, immediately!" Master Windu agreed with Mundi.

"He's right, that is a system we cannot afford to lose. It's the main navigation route for the northeastern quadrant," Obi-Wan added,

"I know that system well. It would take us little time to drive the droids off that planet," Anakin said, obviously offering to go to Kashyyyk.

"Skywalker, your assignment is here with the Chancellor," Mace said, subtly telling Anakin to 'shut up and stop embarrassing yourself'.

"Go, I will. Good relations with the Wookiees, I have," Yoda said.

"It is settled then. Yoda will take a battalion of clones to reinforce the Wookiees on Kashyyyk. May the Force be with us all," Mace said.

Anakin sat in his seat, disappointed.

* * *

Later, after the council meeting was adjourned, Anakin and Obi-Wan walk through one of the massive Jedi Temple hallways.

Anakin is furious.

"What kind of nonsense is this, put me on the Council and not make me a Master!?" Anakin exclaimed as they walked passed a large window, which shined the dusk sun through the large glass panel. Then, Anakin continued. "That's never been done in the history of the Jedi. It's insulting!"

"Oh, calm down, Anakin. You have been given a great honor. To be on the Council at your age ... It's never happened before," Obi-Wan said before he stopped. Anakin stopped to continue the conversation. "Listen to me, Anakin. The fact of the matter is you're too close to the Chancellor. The Council doesn't like it when he interferes in Jedi affairs".

"I swear to you, I didn't ask to be put on the Council..." Anakin said.

"But it's what you wanted! Your friendship with Chancellor Palpatine seems to have paid off," Obi-wan said before he continued walking down the hall, with Anakin following him again.

"That has nothing to do with this," Anakin said.

"Anakin, regardless of how it happened, you find yourself in a delicate situation," Obi-Wan said.

"You mean divided loyalties?" Anakin asked.

"I warned you there was tension between the Council and the Chancellor. I was very clear. Why didn't you listen? You walked right into it," Obi-Wan said.

"The Council is upset I'm the youngest to ever serve," Anakin said, feeling like the Jedi were holding back from his true destiny: which at this point was to gain more power to save Padme from his nightmares.

"No, it is not. Anakin, I worry when you speak of jealousy and pride. Those are not Jedi thoughts. They're dangerous, dark thoughts," Obi-Wan said, echoing the lecture of many Jedi that were around before.

"Master, you of all people should have confidence in my abilities. I know where my loyalties lie," Anakin said adamantly.

"I hope so..." Obi-Wan said.

"I sense there's more to this talk than you're saying," Anakin said.

"Anakin, the only reason the Council has approved your appointment is because the Chancellor trusts you".

This got Anakin's attention. "And...?" He pressed.

"Anakin, look, I am on your side. I didn't want to see you put in this situation," Obi-Wan said.

"What situation?"

Obi-Wan stopped and took a deep breath. He turned around and faced his old friend before he spoke under his breath. "The Council wants you to report on all of the Chancellor's dealings. They want to know what he's up to," Obi-Wan revealed.

"They want me to spy on the Chancellor?" He asked, completely dumbfounded. They walked and stopped in front of a window. "That's treason!"

"We are at war, Anakin. The Jedi Council is sworn to uphold the principles of the Republic, even if the Chancellor does not".

"Why didn't the Council give me this assignment when we were in session?"

"This assignment is not to be on record. The Council asked me to approach you on this personally," he admitted.

"The Chancellor is not a bad man, Obi-Wan. He befriended me. He's watched out for me ever since I arrived here," Anakin said, defending Palpatine's reputation against the the Jedi, even if the Jedi included Obi-Wan.

"That is why you must help us, Anakin. Our allegiance is to the Senate, not to its leader who has managed to stay in office long after his term has expired.

"Master, the Senate demanded that he stay longer," Anakin pointed out.

"Yes, but use your feelings, Anakin. Something is out of place," Obi-Wan said.

Anakin stared at his master in disbelief as he walked over to the window. "You're asking me to do something against the Jedi Code..." he said as he stopped to look out the window. "...Against the Republic. Against a mentor, and a friend. That's what's out of place here. Why are you asking this of me?" Anakin asked as he looked back at Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wanaverted his eyes away from Anakin before he looked back at him.

"The Council is asking you."

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Republic/Night owl assault force, Sundari, 1/4 mile from royal palace. Day 2 of the invasion_.

Allied forces continued down the road that led to the royal palace. This was where the resistance began to get more and more fanatical. Ahsoka deflected laser bolts back at Maul's forces. She expertly sent shots straight back at those who fired them. Clone Troopers inched forward with the armor. AT-RTs and AT-TEs fired their ordnance at the enemy.

Republic troopers set up mortars and repeating blasters to pin down the Shadow Collective defenders. Bo-Katan's forces were busy flying above, trying to keep the skies in Republic hands.

"Rex. What's going on? What do you see?" Ahsoka asked as she continued deflecting laser bolts.

The veteran clone captain pulled his helmet antennae down and zoomed in down the road.

"I see the palace. But the enemy resistance is getting stronger," Rex said as he looked around. Then he looked up a building until he noticed the enemy commander in the region, standing on the rooftop of the building he was looking at. A Mandalorian super commando with maroon armor, an orange visor, and dark horns on his helmet, was giving orders to the defenders. "Ah crap! It's Gar Saxon. He's leading the defense".

Gar Saxon was Maul's top field commander. He was fanatical, and so were his warriors, as well as his defense.

Suddenly, heavy mortar fire came down on the Allied forces. Several Republic walkers were wiped out. That's when enemy death watch troopers, who were waiting in reserve, came in out of nowhere. They swooped in and strafed the road. Dozens of Clones were killed on the road, and many night owls were shot down.

"Everyone fall back. Now!" Ahsoka ordered.

The Republic and Night Owl forces withdrew back the way they came. Saxon's counter-attack had driven the invaders back to their forward camp.

* * *

 _Shadow Collective road block. 1/4 miles from the royal palace_.

" _Commander Saxon, report! What are their losses? I want this to be a day of mourning for the invaders,_ " Maul said as a machine-chair walked over with his hologram emitting from its projector.

Gar Saxon turned around and bowed before his lord and master. "My lord. Enemy forces have been driven back. If you let me go then I can wipe them out," he said.

" _No. I know that you want to taste their blood, spilled in battle. But you've exhausted your forces since this battle has begun. We don't yet have the forces necessary to push them out. We can only keep them at bay and drive back their fleet. But fear not. Once our reinforcements arrive, they will pay dearly for their transgressions against Mandalore, in due time,_ " Maul said, emphasizing the last three words. " _But until then, a live commander is more useful to me than a dead hero"_.

Maul was right. The allied fleet has destroyed a lot of the ships that were meant to bring reinforcements. But their fleet above the city could keep the Republic Navy at bay with artillery support from the city. And the extra ground forces, freed up from the other sectors, will go a long way to destroying the Republic invaders.

"As you wish my lord," Saxon said before the hologram disappeared, cutting off the transmission. He turned around, his hands clasped behind his back, and looked out over the carnage that his men caused.

 _The Invaders will suffer._

* * *

 _Allied camp. 1/2 mile from palace_.

After the retreat, Ahsoka, Rex, and Bo-Katan all gathered around the holo-table at the forward command post with a few Clone and Nite Owl officers.

That attack had cost them dearly. The screams of the wounded soldiers filled the camp.

But the good news was that Republic artillery has finally been moved in closer to the front. They began to bombard the region that the allies just fled from.

"I don't think they can come here to launch a counter-attack," One Nite Owl warrior said. "Our fleet did a number on Maul's forces. They can't reinforce the city as much as they originally wanted to".

"But we still can't get any supplies, reinforcements, or heavy equipment brought in with those big guns protecting the city," Rex pointed out. "So we're in the same boat, but with more holes on our side".

"So they can't attack right now, but we can't at all?" Bo-Katan asked before she placed her hands on the edge of the Holo-table to prop herself up. "That's fantastic".

Ahsoka finally spoke up. "Get me in touch with Captain Autem".

* * *

 _In the Mandalore's lower atmosphere, 2000 miles from Sun'dari_.

Republic star-fighters continued to dogfight Maul's air units in Mandalore's lower atmosphere.

ARC-170s and Fang fighters fought hard for control of the air. Both sides were too evenly matched. No one really won unless the other side was outnumbered. Fighters from both sides were shot down and spun out of control in the desert surface below.

The Republic task force, led by the _RSV_ _Sovereign,_ plowed through the night sky. The Ventors were scatterred across the planet with the escorts, trying to cover more ground and expand the battlefield in the sky, hoping to intercept Maul's bombers.

Capt. Autem hovered over the holo-table that had Ahsoka and Bo-Katan materialized on top of it.

" _Captain. Report. What's going on up there_ ," Bo demanded.

"Ma'am. We're still trying to stop Maul's bombers before they reach their targets. But with our fighter strength stretched this thinly, one of them is bound to make it through, which a few have. We're taking casualties, and my pilots are flying missions around the clock. The only reason we've had this much success is because we called down some of your fighters from the battle in orbit," Autem explained to Kryze.

" _We need to push through now. Can you get your fleet here any sooner to drop off your reserve forces_?" Bo asked, in a demanding way.

"Not unless you've taken out those cannons," Autem said.

" _We're still working on that captain_ ," Ahsoka informed.

As they spoke, Nite Owl and Shadow Collective vessels continued to hammer away at each other in orbit. The Nite Owls just received reinforcements from the colonies that were loyal to Mandalore. That was the only reason why Maul's forces were pulling back.

Autem's fighters were mopping up the last of the Bombers. Several ARC-170s chased down a flight of three Kom'rk bombers and their escorts. The Republic ships fired their blasters at the fleeing ships. It wasn't really fleeing. They were trying to get to its target.

When the Mandalorian bomber crashed, it's nuclear payload detonated. A mushroom cloud formed 1 mile over the desert floor.

The remaining two missiles from the other bombers began to travel towards their target city. It was too late to try and shoot them down, so the Republic fighters broke off.

"Sir, two missiles are heading straight for the city," One officer called out.

"Sir! The _Renegade_ is calling us to pick up their escape pods and provide space for their squadrons!" Another officer called out.

The Captain looked up, totally confused. But before he could ask why, he saw a Venator cut through the clouds and move into the path of the two missiles. Autem watched in dumbstruck horror as the cruiser cut across the path of the two missiles. Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and a massive explosion. Everyone shilded their eyes from the blinding white light. When the light settled, they saw a black cloud hang above the desert. That's when they saw the burning remains pf the Renegade plummet towards the ground.

Autem took his officer cap off and placed it over his heart, and mouthed out a prayer for the crew, who bravely sacrificed themselves to save the city, which was still there. They didn't know it yet, but that city people would one-day immortalize the memory of the _Renegade_ crew forever with their own monument, and a holiday.

The shockwave from the nuclear blast caused a brown out on the ship's systems for a few seconds. Put the power kicked back on. Ahsoka and Kryze's holograms fizzled out and then reappeared.

Ahsoka was clearly saddened by what had just happened.

Autem sighed.

"You'd better hurry. Every city that Maul destroys, is another batch of reinforcements that he can free up to drive you out of Sun'dari. We've tried intercepting some of his ships and convoys from the destroyed cities, but we we've been focusing most of our efforts on stopping Maul's plan," he said, referring to the clone pilots who flew every hour, to try and stop the destruction of Mandalore. "We won't be able to reinforce you wit those heavy guns still protecting Maul's forces," Autem said.

" _We'll get it done captain,_ " Ahsoka said.

Bo just nodded. Not wanting to talk. She felt that the operation wasn't going fast enough. She was right of coarse. The sooner they stopped Maul, the sooner he stops trying to wipe out cities.

"Very well. Good luck. _Sovereign_ out," Autem said before the two holographic figures disappeared.

Autem walked over to the viewport at the front of the ship's bridge. He looked down and watched as more of his fighters landed to refuel, while others flew off to fly more missions.

An invasion was difficult enough as is. But with Maul trying to wipe out cities across the planet they were in the process of liberating, Autem's pilots were working overtime, intercepting enemy bombers and tracking enemy troop movements.

The Republic and Nite Owl fleets were no longer just trying to liberate a planet. They were also trying to prevent the genocide of an entire civilization.

Autem, turned to his XO.

"Commander, tell the _Pioneer_ and _Coruscant sky's_ battle groups to keep intercepting enemy bombers. I want our gunships to start picking up _Renagade's_ escape pods". Autem ordered.

"Yes sir," the clone officer said.

"Oh, and tell any surviving ship in her task force to split into three groups and join us and the other battle groups," Autem ordered.

The clone officer salute and ran off to relay the orders.

* * *

Back at the camp, Ahsoka and the others had just finished speaking with Autem.

"So, any suggestions?" Ahsoka asked.

A clone rushed into the command tent. He saluted. Everyone turned their attention towards him.

"Ma'am, may I interupt?" The clone asked.

Ahsoka nodded.

"Sgt. Kano has just called in from his scouting mission. He and his team have found a way to the enemy control center without going through the enemy lines. He says that we should wipe out most of the cannons if we take out the building," the trooper informed.

Ahsoka turned back to the rest of the group.

"I just found out our next coarse of action. Rex and Kryze? We'll gather our best troopers, and go over Kano's position, and follow them over to the power plant, and take out those guns," Ahsoka said. Rex and Bo nodded. "Appo? I want you to keep dropping artillery on Maul's territory, and send in scouting teams to launch small probing attacks on Saxon's line. I want you to keep their attention away from us while we take out those guns. If we're discovered, I want you to try and press your attack and get the Regiment closer to the palace. Understood?" Ahsoka asked.

Everyone nodded.

"Good, now let's snap to it people. There's a certain Zabrak's butt that needs kicking, and a system that needs saving," Ahsoka said enthusiastically.

Of coarse, her enthusiasm was welcome, but somewhat misplaced.

Time was not on their side.

* * *

 _Unfinished letter to Lux Bonteri, from his girlfriend Ahsoka Tano, currently fighting on Mandalore with transferred elements of the 501st Legion_.

 _Dear Luxie._

 _I got your response. I'm really glad that you're all right. When this war is over, we'll be able to spend as much time as possible together. That, however, brings me to my next point: Yes, I am considering reinstatement into the GAR. I really miss fighting with the rest of the boys alongside my old master. I want it to be like the old days. I'm really glad that you understand. At least this time I'd have you in my life without worrying about-_

-letter ends here.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant, en route to Republic staging area_.

A gunship flew across the skyline above Coruscant, whilst avoiding the endless traffic of the Planet. It was carrying three very important Jedi and several clone troopers. The Jedi were Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, and the short, yet wise and powerful, Jedi Grand Master Yoda himself. The three of them were discussing Young Skywalker's newest assignment.

Anakin has been spending time with Palpatine a lot lately. It was Palpatine who wanted to put Anakin on the Council. The Council allowed it, but did not allow him to be granted the rank of master, which upset young Skywalker. The Council was afraid that the Chancellor was gaining too much power, and they were afraid that young Skywalker was getting to close to him, even though they ordered Anakin to keep an eye on Palpatine. With the divide between the Jedi and Chancellor growing, they were afraid of Anakin siding with Palpatine.

"Anakin did not take to his assignment with much enthusiasm," Obi-Wan said.

"It's very dangerous to put those two together. I don't think the boy can handle it. I don't trust him," Windu said as he looked out the side of the Gunship.

Obi-Wan looked at him to interject.

"With all due respect Master, is he not the chosen one?" Obi-Wan asked. Windu turned his head to look at Kenobi. "Is he not the one chosen to destroy the Sith and bring balance to the force?"

"So the prophecy says," Windu said.

"A Prophecy..." Yoda said. The other two jedi looked at him as Yoda stroked his chin in deep thought. "...That misread could have been".

That got the other two Jedi thinking. What if the prophecy was misread. What if everything they thought Skywalker was, or meant to be, was a lie.

The Gunship landed at a Republic Military Installation. Battalions of clones stood at attention, as hundreds of viechles, including the massive Turbo Tanks, were loaded onto the Venators.

A Wookie leader named Chewbacca went to meet the three jedi as they stepped off of the gunship. He was the liaison to the Jedi for the Wookie people. His planet was under a Separatist invasion, for his world Kashyyk rested on the crossroads of many hyperspace lanes, several of which led into or near Republic/Separatist space.

Yoda was going to lead the Jedi task force to liberate the planet.

This ordeal with the Chancellor and Skywalker was going to have to wait. There was still a war to fight.

But of coarse, the Jedi were still unaware of the serious conspiracy that threatened to tear the Republic down.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

On her way back home from the Senate, Padme's Speeder pulls up to the landing platform. Captain Typho escorts Padme onto the veranda, where two handmaidens, Elle and Motee, are waiting. Padme turns to Captain Typho.

"Thank you, Captain," she said.

He nodded. "Rest well, My Lady," he said before he gets back into the Speeder, and it disappears into the cityscape.

The handmaidens, Motee and Elle, approach Padme as the shadow of a figure moves in the background. C-3PO is standing nearby.

"You are relieved for the night," Padme said.

Her handmaidens bowed. "Yes, my lady," one of them said before they left the apartment.

C-3PO stands, confused, as the handmaidens turn and exit. "Is there anything I might do for you, my lady?" He asked.

"Yes, make sure all the security droids are working," she ordered. "Thank you, Threepio".

The golden droid turns and exits.

Padme stands and watches the sunset from the veranda that looked out over the city, thinking that it might setting on the Age of the Republic. The shadowy figure from earlier moves toward her from the living room. She senses something.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Someone asked.

"AH!" Padme shouted as she jumped and turned around. She saw that it was her husband, who was showing her his palms to show that he was unarmed, calming her down. "You startled me," she said as she sat down on the couch.

Anakin walked over and sat next to her on the couch. He placed his flesh hand on her baby bump and began to rub it.

"How are you feeling?" He asked as he continued rubbing.

"He keeps kicking," Padme said.

"He?!" Anakin asked with one eyebrow arched over the other. "Why do you think it's a boy?"

Padme started giggling. "My motherly intuition". She said as she puts her hand over Anakin hand to keep it on her belly. Anakin suddenly felt a little tap on his hand. Except that it was coming from inside Padme. It was the baby kicking.

"Whoa!" He exclaimed in surprise. "With a kick that strong, it's got to be a girl".

They both laughed in response to Anakin's joke. Then Padme looked at her husband.

"I heard about your appointment." She flashed another one of her beautiful smiles in his direction, lighting up the room. "Anakin. I'm so proud of you".

Anakin's smile disappeared.

Padme's did as well, and she looked at him with a confused look.

"I may be on the Council, but..." He paused. "...they refused to accept me as a Jedi Master.

"Annie..." Padme cooed before she scooted closer to him and placed her hand on his head, and pulled him down so that he could rest his head on her lap. "Patience. In time, they will recognize your skills". She said as she began to stroke her hair.

"They still treat me as if I were a Padawan learner. . . they fear my power, that's the problem". He said.

"Anakin..." She said surprised.

Anakin sat back up in order to speak directly to his wife. He lowered his head and looked at his lap.

"Sometimes, I wonder what's happening to the Jedi Order," he said, thinking of the way the Council has treated Ahsoka, and how they're treating him and the Chancellor right now. "I think this war is destroying the principles of the Republic".

Padme averted her eyes when Anakin said that. She thought back to the meeting she had with her colleagues earlier. She was told to tell no one. But she couldn't help but at least give Anakin a hint.

"Have you ever considered that we may be on the wrong side?"

He looked back at her. "What do you mean?" He asked with suspicion.

Padme pressed her lips into a straight line, as if hesitating to speak. But then she let it all out. :What if the democracy we thought we were serving no longer exists, and the Republic has become the very evil we have been fighting to destroy?"

Anakin's eyebrows flared up higher, and he began to shake his head. "I don't believe that. And you're sounding like a Separatist!" He accused.

Padme stared at him for a second. But then she continued.

"Anakin, this war represents a failure to listen . . . Now, you're closer to the Chancellor than anyone. Please, please ask him to stop the fighting and let diplomacy resume," she requested.

Anakin's anger started growing again. "Don't ask me to do that, Padme," he demanded while shaking his finger at her. He sat up and walked towards the veranda. He turned around and pointed to her again. "Make a motion in the Senate, where that kind of a request belongs. I'm not your errand boy. I'm not anyone's errand boy!

Padme was taken aback. Her husband was clearly upset.

"What is it?" She asked very calmly, and very sweetly.

He turned his head from her and looked out over the horizon. "Nothing," he said.

"Don't do this..." she said as she got up from the couch and walked over to Anakin. She placed his hand on his mechanical arm. "...don't shut me out. Let me help you".

"You can't help me . . . I'm trying to help you," Anakin said. They look in each other's eyes before Anakin continued. "I sense that there are things that you're not telling me".

Padme was a little startled, but then she smiled. "I sense there are things you are not telling me," she repeated playfully.

Anakin is a little embarrassed.

That's when Padme moved closer to him.

"Hold me..." she said as she placed her hands on his chest. "...like you did by the lake on Naboo, so long ago ... when there was nothing but our love,' she said as she rested her head on Anakin's chest. Anakin wrapped her arms around her and refused to let go. "No politics, no plotting, no war".

She closed her eyes and continued to rub her cheek against his leather tunic.

Anakin continued to hold her. Then he smirked.

"You know, there was another way I used to hold you," he said before he leaned into her ear. "...when I always left you a little gift".

She looked up at him and smiled seductively. "I remember," she said as she pushed her bust up against Anakin's chest. She closed her eyes and puckered her lips. Anakin smiled. He leaned in and pressed his lips against his wife's lips and he began to kiss her passionately.

His nightmares still bothered him.

The Jedi Council still bothered him.

But momentarily, it was forgotten, as his wife returned his kiss with equal passion.

The fires of passion licked at his every nerve as Padme's hands began to pull his leather tunic apart and roam his bare chest, enticing him with her touch. His tunic parted until his abs were naked before him. As they continued kissing, Padme continued to rub her hands down his chest, parting his tunic more and more. His tunic was soon completely open.

She eventually reached into his pants and began to stroke his hardening cock. Anakin broke the kiss and leaned his head back as his wife grasped his cock and began to gently jerk him off.

A gasp escaped his lips.

"Annie..." she moaned. "...I need you." She begged.

Anakin looked back down at Padme, who was staring at him with a pouty look.

Padme Amidala had Padme Skywalker. The gentle politician turned into the loving wife.

He smiled down at her. He then pulled her head up to his so that he could smashes lips against hers. She moaned inside his lips as she pushed her body against his muscular form.

Then suddenly, in a swift motion, he lifted his giggling wife up into his strong arms and began to carry her up to their bedroom...

* * *

Up in their chamber, on a king-sized bed, Padme lay totally naked on the bed. Her legs were spread apart, and her husband stood on his knees between them. His erection stood up tall in its hardened 10-inch glory.

He was smiling, as was she. He was rubbing his hands up and down her baby bump, gently feeling the thumps underneath his hands as their child kicked. Anakin continued to rub her smooth cream-colored skin.

They wer smiling at each other.

"You're so ... beautiful," he said.

She smiled up at him.

He smiled back before he placed his hands on her hips and began to push himself into her, while still standing on his knees between her thighs. He moved slowly, but he was teasing her, only pushing his tip inside of her. She moaned as he continued teasing her.

Padme leaned her head back into the pillow and began to nibble on her finger as her husband continued teasing her.

Anakin laughed at her reactions before he slowly started to push his full length into her entrance, finally beginning to make love to her. Padme continued to moan with each slow thrust, and she began to massage her own breasts as her husband continued.

She loved the sounds that her little Ani was making as he continued to thrust into her. He panted and moaned.

Sweat began to glisten across Anakin's ripped abs, and so did Padme's stomach. Anakin began to moan louder and louder with each motion he made, sending ecstasy shooting throughout Padme's body.

 _'I'd missed this,'_ she thought to herself. 'I missed feeling him inside of me, loving me, making me feel _amazing_ '.

Anakin began to move at a slower pace, aiming directly at Padme's sweet spot. Her body began to tremble, and she stopped massaging her breasts in order to bite her fingers again. With every thrust Anakin made into his wife's entrance, he sent waves of pleasure throughout the rest of her body.

Anakin closed his eyes and leaned his head back as he kept hitting her sweet spot. A gasp escaped his lips with every thrust he made.

"Ani," she moaned.

She continued to moan out Anakin's name, and it was around that time that they both knew that the other person was close.

"Annie...!" She moaned. "...I-I'm c-coming ... OOOHhhhhh!" She shouted as her walls tightened around Anakin's cock. Her entrance throbbed before her love juices began to gush out over Anakin's crotch. The tightness made it harder for him to push, but he continued thrusting at the same pace nonetheless, and continued pleasing his wife.

Anakin froze when he felt his member begin to pulsate. Then his eyes rolled up into his brain when his balls clenched, and a throbbing sensation began to travel up his shaft.

"UH! UUHH!" He grunted as his member exploded inside of Padme's entrance and began to shoot his live giving seed up into her womb. He nearly collapsed on top of her, but he propped himself up by pushing both of his hands onto her large breasts. He then continued to thrust his member into Padme's entrance, which continued to throb and pump his hot juices into Padme.

Padme smiled up at him and placed her hands over Anakin's hands, which were still on her breasts.

After a couple minutes, Anakin was pumped dry. He slowly pulled out of Padme and laid next to her, flat on his back. They lied there for several minutes. That's when Anakin turned on his side to face Padme.

He leaned in and whispered into her ear. "Come lay with me".

Padme did as he said and rolled onto her side, and scooted up and cuddled with him. They looked into each others eyes and smiled. Padme pressed her body up against his. They stayed that way for a while. Padme tucked in her arms close to her chest and placed her hands on Anakin's pecks, and rested her head into his neck.

But Anakin, on the other hand, allowed his hands to roam over her creamy body.

"Oh Ani," she sighed as she rubbed her head into Anakin's neck. "That was amazing".

"I'm so glad that you feel that way," he said. "I love you Padme ... my beautiful angel,' he said as he stroked her face.

"Hmmmh. I love you too, my handsome protector," she cooed before her husband leaned in and began to kiss her tenderly.

As they kissed, Padme and Anakin both felt the baby kicking.

They both stopped and smiled.

Padme looked down at her naked baby-bump.

"Oh, well it looks like someone else is getting impatient,' she said jokingly.

"Let me calm our child down," he said before he quickly pecked her lips and slowly moved down her body. He planet kisses on her body as he went down. She was smiling the whole time. When he reached her baby bump, he began to rub his hands on her skin before he pressed his lips against her belly. His lips left her skin with a smacking sound. "Now listen little one, Your beautiful, and loving mother is tired. She's carrying you for several months now, and she wants me to tell you to be patient. Now be a good little girl and do as your handsome loving father says. Okay?" He said to Padme's belly before he planted a kiss on it.

Padme smiled. She loved Anakin deeply before. But now he was showing a fatherly attitude that she loved about him.

Anakin broke away from her stomach and went back up to meet Padme at eye level.

They smiled at each other.

"I still think that it's a boy," she said.

"Heh. We'll agree to disagree my love," Anakin said before he leaned in and pressed his lips against Padme's in a tender kiss.

Padme moaned and accepted the kiss, which grew in passion, until her mouth was being ravaged feverishly. She combed her fingers through his hair and kissed him back with equal fervor. She arched her body up towards his, determined to feel his hard, muscled body against hers. Because of her pregnancy, her hormones were all over the place. And since her husband was naked and preparing to make love to her again, she was going to take full advantage of her Ani's affection (not that she didn't always do so).

Padme _Amidala_ and Padme _Skywalker_ were two different people.

One was a professional politician, while the other was a more interesting case.

The other was a woman who was desperately in love with the man that was about to start thrusting into her again. The man whose shredded physique pinned her angel-like body beneath his.

And, as always, their love-making would be as amazing and soul searing as ever.

* * *

Sometime later, Anakin heard a chirping sound in his ears.

He woke up and saw that his com-link was blinking and beeping on the nightstand next to his side of the bed. He grabbed it and looked at it. It was just a text message from Chancellor Palpatine. It was telling him to meet him at the Opera house in an hour.

Anakin looked outside and saw that it was dark out.

He then looked behind him and saw his wife sleeping soundly.

He could've ignored it, and gone back to sleep with his wife. But then he thought that it might be important. He got dressed and put on his Jedi robes. He then walked over to Padme's sleeping form, and planted a kiss on her forehead.

She moaned and stirred in her sleep slightly. He smiled when he noticed that she cracked a small smile in her sleep.

He walked away. When he stood in the doorframe, he looked back and saw his wife still sleeping. She looked like an angel.

With one final look, fighting off the urge to strip back down and get back into bed with her, he turned around and walked off.

He went down to the garage and grabbed his speeder, before he took off and headed for the opera house.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant, Opera house, Near the Chancellor's private box seats_.

Anakin rushed into the opera house. He was on his way to see the Chancellor. As he ran up the lavish velvet red carpeted stairs, he saw Coruscant's elite, including politicians and business men, mingle in the atrium and near the entrance.

He continued up the stairs, going unnoticed by the elite of Coruscant's citizens.

It took him a few moments to find the box seats that were reserved for the Chancellor. When he found a box that was guarded by two menacing Senatorial guardsmen, in their all red cloaks, his search came to an end.

They'd normally block most people from entering to see the Chancellor. But he was a Jedi. He was one of the people with that kind of special privilege. He walked into the box seats and saw Palpatine sitting with some of his colleagues from the Senate, including Vice Chancellor Mas Amedda. They were watching a Mon Calamari play called _Squid Lake_. People clamped at the display of talent in front of them.

Anakin placed his hand on Palpatine's shoulder and leaned in to speak to him directly.

"You wanted to see me Chancellor?" He asked.

Palatine looked up, delighted to see his trusted friend.

"Yes, Anakin! Come closer. I have good news. Our Clone Intelligence Units have discovered the location of General Grievous. He is hiding in the Utapau system," Palpatine said.

That got Anakin's attention. "At last, we'll be able to capture that monster and end this war".

"I would worry about the collective wisdom of the Council if they didn't select you for this assignment. You are the best choice by far … but, they can't always be trusted to do the right thing," Palpatine said.

"They try," Anakin replied, defending the Council.

"Sit down," Palpatine said to Anakin. He then turned to his aides. "Leave us," he ordered the other politicians, who stood up and filed out of the box.

Anakin sat down in an empty seat next to Palpatine, who leaned over to him.

"Anakin, you know I'm not able to rely on the Jedi Council. If they haven't included you in their plot, they soon will," Palpatine said, referring to the mistrust that began to fill in the void between himself and the Jedi.

"I'm not sure I understand," Anakin said. Palatine continued.

"You must sense what I have come to suspect . . . the Jedi Council want control of the Republic . . . they're planning to betray me," Palpatine said.

"I don't think..." Anakin started to say.

"...Anakin, search your feelings. You know, don't you?" Palpatine asked.

"I know they don't trust you . . ." Anakin said.

"Or the Senate . . . or the Republic . . . or Democracy for that matter," Palpatine said, thinking that the Jedi were plotting against him.

"I have to admit my trust in them has been shaken," Anakin said, thinking back to how he saw as the Jedi began to plot against Palpatine, even getting him to keep an eye on him for them.

The Chancellor turned to him.

"Why? They asked you to do something that made you feel dishonest, didn't they? Palpatine said, as if reading Anakin's mind.

Anakin didn't say anything. He simply looked down, in deep thought.

Palpatine continued. "They asked you to spy on me, didn't they?"

"I don't know ... I don't know what to say," Anakin said.

"Remember back to your early teachings. Anakin. ' _All those who gain power are afraid to lose it_.' Even the Jedi," Palpatine said.

"The Jedi use their power for good," Anakin said.

"Good is a point of view, Anakin. And the Jedi point of view is not the only valid one. The Dark Lords of the Sith believe in security and justice also, yet they are considered by the Jedi to be..."

"...evil," Anakin finished.

"...from a Jedi's point of view," Palpatine countered.

He continued.

"The Sith and the Jedi are similar in almost every way, including their quest for greater power. The difference between the two is the Sith are not afraid of the dark side of the Force. That is why they are more powerful," Palpatine said.

Anakin turned to Palpatine. This was the exact opposite of what he was taught as a youngling.

"The Sith rely on their passion for their strength. They think inward, only about themselves," Anakin countered.

"And the Jedi don't?" Palpatine asked as he turned his head away from the show to Anakin.

"The Jedi are selfless . . . they only care about others," Anakin said, adamantly.

Palpatine smiled.

"Or so you've been trained to believe. Why is it, then, that they have asked you to do something you feel is wrong?" Palpatine asked.

"I'm not sure it's wrong," Anakin said.

"Have they asked you to betray the Jedi code? The Constitution? A friendship? Your own values? Think. Consider their motives. Keep your mind clear of assumptions. The fear of losing power is a weakness of both the Jedi and the Sith," Palpatine said.

Anakin stopped, deep in thought.

 _He's not wrong_ , he though to himself. Anakin truly wanted to debunk Palpatine's claim towards the people that freed him from slavery, and have trained him since he was nine years old to be a great Jedi, but he couldn't help but think of Palpatine's words.

"Did you ever hear the tragedy of _'Darth Plagueis The Wise_ '?" Palatine asked.

"No," Anakin said.

Palpatine smiled. "I thought not. It's not a story the Jedi would tell you. It's a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life ... He had such a knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying," he said as he turned to Anakin, who was deeply interested in the tale.

"He could actually save people from death?"

"The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural," Palpatine continued.

"What happened to him?" Anakin asked, urging the Chancellor to continue.

"He became so powerful . . . the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew, then his apprentice killed him in his sleep," Palpatine said before he smiled. "Plagueis never saw it coming. It's ironic he could save others from death, but not himself."

"Is it possible to learn this power?" Anakin asked, thinking of his pregnant wife, whom he feared for. He was secretly convinced that she would die after having their baby. He would do anything to save her.

Palpatine turned to Anakin once more.

"Not from a Jedi".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Hey folks. That's part 19.**

 **The Siege of Mandalore continues, while Anakin is seduced by the dark side, and the council don't trust him, or the chancellor he serves.**

 **Please leave a review if you've finished reading. I value your** **input.**

 **This is Grubkiller, over and out.**


	20. Chapter 20-Battle Lines

**Have no Fear, Grubkiller is here!**

 **Hey folks. Here's part 20 of my story: Fall of the Republic!**

 **Ahsoka and Bo-Katan take their troops on the offensive. The Jedi Council meet to discuss the war, while Padme and her colleagues discuss the Chancellor's ever-growing power.**

* * *

 **By the way, it has come to my attention that some of you might not be comfortable with some the lemon scenes in this story. To them I say, 'Look, I understand that you may not be comfortable with them. But this _is_ an M-rated story. The only reason it's rated M is because of the lemon scenes. If you don't like them, then I'll warn you if they're coming from now on. But let me get a coulple things clear: It's _my_ story, so I'll write whatever and however _I_ wish. And if you don't like what I write, you don't have to read. **

**But, I will try harder to warn you if lemon scenes are approaching.**

* * *

 **But anyway, I hope that you can all still enjoy my story, so please, without further delay, enjoy part 20.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Kashyyyk, Wookie home-world, near the city of Kashirro_.

Far out in the outer rim, on the planet Kashyyyk, the home world of the Wookies, Masters Luminara Unduili and Quinlin Vos, had taken Luminara's 41st Elite Corps, and were being deployed to the surface to expel a Separatist invasion.

After the battle of Coruscant and with the death of Count Dooku, the CIS fleet retreated into the outer rim. This led to the Republic Military launching a reinvigorated offensive into the Outer Rim. The CIS were no longer able to launch a powerful offensive like the one they did on Coruscant, with the disastrous defeat that they suffered. But they still had a powerful presence in the outer rim, as well as control over most of their fortress and foundry worlds.

The CIS may have lost the face of their movement.

They may have lost the ability to destroy the Republic at its core.

But they could still force the Republic into a bloody war of attrition, which they could try to survive. They were even able to launch attacks on planets such as Kashyyyk. It sat on the crossroads of several important hyperspace lanes. Under their control, the CIS could use them to attack Republic shipping and raid targets just over the border.

Not able to hold the planet on their own, the Wookies called for the Republic's support.

Yoda stood high above the beachhead on the wooden platforms and tree house structures that gave them a strong view of the area around them. There was a vast lake that separated the two armies. They prepared on their mutual beachheads.

Down below, Clone Scout Troopers that wore jungle camouflaged armor, ran to their stations. They took cover along barricades on the beach. Republic tanks were pouring out of the Star Destroyer that was parked behind several large trees, the _RSV Tranquility_ , as they mustered on the beach with their Wookie comrades.

Wookie catamarans, and other flying machines, flew across the gray skies as they scouted the CIS side of the lake.

Yoda turned around to see a holographic version of the Jedi Council. They were back on Coruscant, discussing the status of the War. Most of the Council members were there, but a few, like Plo Koon and Ki Adi Mundi, were in the outer rim, fighting the CIS. They were discussing the new information that Anakin received from Palpatine.

" _Palpatine thinks General Grievous is on Utapau_?" Mundi asked from the planet Mygeeto.

" _Yes. Clone intelligence intercepted a message from the chairman of Utapau that mentions Grievous,_ " Anakin confirmed.

Yoda stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Act on this we must. The capture of General Grievous will end this war," Yoda said. "Quickly and decisively we should proceed".

Anakin nodded.

" _Then who is to lead the campaign to Utapau_?" Mundi asked.

" _The Chancellor has requested, that I lead the campaign_ ," Anakin offered.

Everyone looked at him as if he had grown a second head. No one on the Council liked that Palpatine was interfering with Jedi affairs.

" _The Council will make up its own mind who is to go. Not the Chancellor_ ," Windu's hologram said plainly. " _And besides, you have your own duties here that concern the Chancello_ _r_ ".

Anakin, who hated spying on his old friend, reluctantly fell in line.

"A master with more experience dealing with Grievous we require," Yoda said.

" _I concur. Master Kenobi should go_ ," Mundi said.

"I agree," Yoda said.

Anakin lowered his head slightly in silent frustration as the council agreed one by one.

" _Very well. Council adjourned_ ," Windu said before the hologram disappeared, leaving Yoda with the Wookies and Clone Commander Gree.

Yoda hopped out of the chair and walked to the edge of the platform.

Clone snipers and Wookie gunners patrolled the various platforms and the bridges that connected them.

He walked next to Commander Gree, who was looking through a pair of binoculars at the CIS side of the lake.

The small green Jedi came up to Gree's knees, so the Clone Commander had to kneel down next to him.

"The droids have started up their main power generators," Gree said.

"Then now the time is Commander," Yoda said.

"Yes Sir," Gree replied.

On the beach below, the Wookies roared out a ferocious battle cry as Separatist tanks and spider droids marched through the water.

CIS droid gunships flew in the air. Missiles and blaster bolts flew into the air towards the Republic/Wookie side of the lake.

Explosions threw up sand and debris in the air.

Clones and Wookies moved into the trenches. They were dug in deep. They used turrets and mortars, as well as Tanks to meet the CIS in battle.

High above the lakeside fortifications on a mountain nearby, Republic Scout Troopers armed with scoped DC-15a rifles peppered the enemy forces below with automatic blaster fire.

Wookies swung down with ropes from the platforms above the lake. They came down with a battle cry and boarded several CIS 'snail' tanks. They placed explosives on the tanks. Each Wookie managed to jump off before the tanks exploded.

The battle raged viciously.

A stray laser bolt hit the platform that Yoda was standing on. It missed him by a few feet, but he still recoiled. As a Jedi Master, Yoda was very superstitious. He couldn't help but feel that the close call he experienced had a deeper meaning.

He watched as the Battle continued around him.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Mandalore, Sun'dari. After midnight. Beginning of day 3 of the siege_.

The situation was starting to get desperate.

Maul's forces were slowly starting to gather above the dome-city. The reason that Republic/Night Owls naval forces weren't gathering above the city to try and stop them was because they were being protected by the city's anti-ship cannons. If Ahsoka and her troopers didn't move quick enough, then they'd be cut off and destroyed.

As Ahsoka, Bo-Katan, and their best warriors, with everyone but Ahsoka using jetpacks, moved from rooftop to rooftop in search of the path that Sgt. Kano spoke of earlier.

Meanwhile, Lt. Appo and the rest of the regiment were keeping the Shadow Collective forces busy. They were sending out different units, no bigger than a platoon, to attack the front. All of this was happening while artillery from both sides continued to hammer away.

The streets were completely filled with debris from the battle.

The strike force stopped on a rooftop. They all looked around to make sure that they weren't surrounded. Rex looked at his holo-map, which began to blink red rapidly. "Commander! We're coming up on Sgt. Kano's position now!" Rex said.

Ahsoka and Kryze both walked up to Rex on the edge of the rooftop. "Where?" Bo-Katan asked.

Rex looked at his holo-map and pointed at the spot. "Down there," he said. Ahsoka and Kryze both looked at where the Captain was pointing and saw a metro entrance that led underground.

Ahsoka and Kryze both looked at each other and nodded.

"Alright, let's move out," Ahsoka said before she force jumped off of the roof and into the streets.

Rex, Kryze, and their troopers used their jetpacks to follow suit. Ahsoka goes down the stairs first. That's when she saw a gate that was closed. They saw Kano and his men on the other side.

"Hey sarge, look who we found," One of Kano's troopers said.

"Heh heh! Hi boys," Hardcase said.

"Nice of you guys to drop in," another one of Kano's men said.

Ahsoka smiled before she used the force to pry the two gates apart. One of Kryze's people used a block of wood to keep it open. They all began to walk through. Ahsoka walked up to Kano.

"What's the situation Kano?" Ahsoka asked.

Kano turned around and pointed down to the tunnel entrance. "This subway tunnel leads straight to the enemy power generator. If we follow it, we should come out in the building across the street from the power plant".

"Why did you and your men go inside without keeping the gate open?" Kryze asked.

"There was an enemy mechanized platoon heading down the street. We had to avoid them, fast. In fact, they actually looked inside. They almost found us," Kano said.

"You did good sergeant. Now let's get moving," Ahsoka said.

Everyone moved into the tunnel. When everyone was inside, one clone trooper used his rifle stock to bash the wooden block out from between the gates, closing them swiftly. It looked like the gate was never opened.

* * *

The allied strike force walked through the abandoned tunnel. It was filled with rubble and abandoned train cars. The troops split off into three groups. One moved on the platforms on either side of the tracks, while the third group moved up the middle, through the train cars sometimes.

Ahsoka tried to use her echolocation to try and sense anything that was in the tunnel with them. But all she could hear were rodents and the rumbling of artillery crashing into the streets above them.

"What's the story here?" Ahsoka asked, wondering about the cramped and damaged state that the subway tunnel found itself in.

"Right after Maul's take over of Sun'dari, the planet found itself thrust into a full-scale civil war," Kryze began as she continued walking. "And a massive refugee crisis took place. People were forced to either stay and live under Maul, or they took their chances and took the tunnels out of the city. The Mandalorian resistance spent days trying to get as many people out of the cities as possible".

As Ahsoka listened to Kryze, she began to see abandoned luggage scattered about. One purple backpack caught her eye. It had a little doll next to it. She began to feel for that little girl who carried it, and hoped that the girl and her family made it out.

"When the resistance was ratted out, Maul's troopers went into the tunnels to keep them from escaping. So the resistance, which was made up of Satine's remaining royal guards and some militia volunteers, blocked off the tunnels and held off the Shadow Collective forces for as long as possible, sacrificing most of their members to save the people," Kryze said.

She lowered her head, a little saddened.

"My son was one of them..." she continued.

Ahsoka swiftly turned her he'd towards Kryze.

"Was his name ... Korkie Kryze?" She asked.

Kryze turned to her. "How do you know him?"

Ahsoka smiled. "I taught at the academy here while I was on an undercover mission. He was one of my students".

"No kidding?" Bo-Katan asked, surprised.

"Yup. And don't worry. Korkie had to to have made it out," Ahsoka said.

"You sure about that?" Bo-Katan asked.

"I know he did," Ahsoka said with confidence.

Bo and Ahsoka looked at each other and smiled before Bo gave the young togrutan a nod of respect.

Up ahead, several clones were walking up ahead of the three groups. They listened as artillery fire rumbled through the street above them and echo down the tunnel.

 _BOOMMMM! BOOMMMM! BOOMMMM!_

"Do you think that's theirs, or ours?" Hardcore asked.

"I can't tell," Jesse said.

Tup looked around the tunnel, which was almost pitch black except for a few lights that were flickering or buzzing. "Man, this place gives me the creeps."

"Just try not to shoot the shadows again," Hardcase said.

"Once. It happened once, alright?" Tup exclaimed.

"Cut the chatter back there," Rex ordered. He then turned to face Kano. "Alright sergeant, tell me where this entrance was".

"Just up ahead," Kano said. "We're almost there".

The strike force eventually came up on a door that looked like it was sealed shut.

"Alright, let's get this door open," Rex said.

Hardcase pulled a explosive detonator from his backpack while chuckling. "Heheheheh! I've got this," he said as he walked up to the door. But then he felt a hand on his wrist, before it forced him to put his arm down.

He looked to his right to see Ahsoka standing there.

"Easy Hardcase. I don't want Maul to be able to hear us coming," she said as she towards the door, leaving behind a disappointed Hardcase. She walked up to the door and pilled out her lightsabers. She twirled them around in her hands before she activated them, making the dark tunnel glow green and yellow. "All it takes is ... a little finesse".

Then she plunged her blades into the top of the doornail began to separate them and move them downwards, cutting a hole out of the door.

As Ahsoka began to cut the door open, the Clones and Mandalorians stood guard. For a moment, there was nothing interesting to report.

That's when one of the Nite Owls looked off in the distance and saw multiple silhouettes moving in the distance. He looked straight ahead and activated his night vision, lighting up his field of view. What he saw caused him to yell out in surprise.

"Contact!" He shouted, causing everyone to spring into action. "Enemy foot mobiles coming in!"

"Their here, open fire!" One of the Maul troopers called out. Laser bolts suddenly began to fly down the tunnel in the direction of the strike force. A couple clones and a Nite Owl were speared through the face by laser fire.

Rex, Bo-Katan, and their troopers took cover and returned fire. Soon, the dark tunnel was illuminated by yellow and blue muzzle flashes.

"Hey Commander..." Hardcase yelled out to Ahsoka, who wasn't even halfway through the door yet. "What was that you said about not wanting Maul to hear us?"

"Shut up Hardcase!" Jesse shouted as they kept firing.

"Just hold them off, and buy the commander some time!" Rex called out as he fired his dual blasters at the enemy.

One Nite Owl was about to bend over to fire his jetpack rocket. That's when Bo-Katan stopped him. "Don't use your rockets down here. You cold bring down the whole tunnel on us!"

The Shadow Collective forces were taking heavy casualties, but they had plenty of bodies to throw at Ahsoka and her allies. But unbeknownst to the strike force, that wasn't the only thing they had to worry about.

* * *

Up above, in the streets of Sun'dari, Darth Maul's forces were launching a massive counterattack to try and drive the Republic out of the city.

Gar Saxon looked through a pair of micro-binoculars to watch his forces throw themselves against the Republic defenses. Artillery from both sides blasted apart buildings and pavement, and occasionally caused troopers from both sides to disappear in a ball of fire. Nite Owl and Shadow Collective airborne troopers continued to fight for control of the skies. But the Shadow collective was soon going to receive additional reinforcements. They would take the skies and pick off the Republic forces from above. It would be like shooting fish in a barrel.

That's when one trooper ran up to him.

"Sir, we're getting reports of fighting down in the subway tunnels. The invaders are trying to move under our defenses.

Saxon lowered the binoculars from his face and looked at the trooper with a gaze that could kill, before he gave him an order.

"Flood the tunnels."

* * *

Down below, as the strike force continued to hold off the Shadow collective, Ahsoka continued to cut her way through the door with her sabers. She was now about two-thirds of the way there. Sparks of continued to fly from the lines she melted through the door already.

As the fighting continued, a loud rumbling sound could be heard. But it wasn't coming from the battle above. It was coming from the end of the tunnel. Ahsoka could hear. So could her men.

"What was that noise?!" One of the Nite Owls shouted.

Suddenly, rodents began to run passed the group, trying to get away from something. That's when they saw more Shadow Collective troopers round a corner down the tunnel and run towards them. The strike force fired at them and the Maul troopers that they were already dealing with.

One clone who was firing his rifle stopped firing and lowered it for a second, realizing that something was wrong. "What the Hell are they off to in such a hurry?"

Then, the trooper got his answer.

A huge wave of water began to head towards them, washing away several enemy soldiers with them.

"O' God!" One clone exclaimed.

"HURRY COMMANDER!" Rex shouted.

"Almost..." Ahsoka said before she finished cutting and blasted the door open with the force. "...Got It!"

Bo-Katan moved towards the door. "Everyone move through now!"

The strike force moved through as quickly as they could. Most got through. But several more weren't fast enough, and were swept away. Ahsoka was the last to move through.

"Commander! WATCH OUT!" Rex shouted.

Ahsoka looked back for a split second as she rushed through hole in the door. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was the force of the wave throwing her against a wall head first.

* * *

Ahsoka's vision is blurry as she slowly comes to. Her head was throbbing and she felt herself being carried up a flight of stairs. She's all wet and grubby. She began to cough before panting heavily.

"It's okay Commander. I got you," Rex said.

As her vision cleared up, she could see that she was leaning on Rex, with one arm around her shoulder. Clones began to move up the stairs, to join the rest of what remained of the strike force

"Uh, Rex. What..." she started to say before she groaned with pain as her head throbbed. "...what happened?"

"They flooded their own subway tunnels to try and kill us," Rex explained as he placed Ahsoka on a chair, to let her relax. "We lost a few of our guys, but most of us are okay".

That's when Ahsoka's com-link went off. She went to answer it, but Rex took it. "I've got it commander," he said.

Ahsoka smiled at Rex's considerate nature.

"This is Captain Rex speaking," he said.

Captain Autem was on the other end of the transmission. " _Captain. Maul's forces are about to start flooding into Sun'dari. Unless you take out those cannons, there is nothing that we can do!_ " The Captain exclaimed.

Ahsoka pulled down Rex's wrist so that she could speak into her comm-link, which was still in Rex's hand. "We're just across the street from the power generator. Stand by, Captain," Ahsoka said into her com-link.

" _I hear you Commander. Standing by_ ," Autem said..

Ahsoka closed the link and got up to look around at her allies. "Alright everyone. Let's take out those guns!"

"You heard her lads, let's go!" Rex ordered his troopers before they ran up to the roof-top. They were followed by Bo-Katan and her warriors. They eventually made it to the roof and looked across the street to see a large box-like building, which was heavily guarded by about a dozen Shadow Collective super-commandoes, and a platoon of regular soldiers, who manned repeating blaster turrets and mortar emplacements.

"Kryze!" Ahsoka exclaimed. "Go after those fliers".

"We're on it," Kryze said before she turned to her airborne troopers. "Warriors, if we disable those guns, then we'll be one step closer to a free Mandalore. Onward to victory!" Bo-Katan shouted as she and her Nite Owls rocketed towards their shadow collective counterparts.

Both sides started dogfighting in the air above the building.

"Okay Rex" Ahsoka exclaimed. "Let's get busy!"

"Alright, Kano, I want you and your men to keep this building secure. Coric, you and your boys are with me and the commander. Jesse, Hardcase! Keep their heads down!" Rex shouted, ordering the two troopers to suppress the Shadow collective infantry on the building across from them, which had the final three anti-ship cannons.

"Finally. I thought I'd never get to blast something!" Hardcore exclaimed.

"Just fire Hardcase," Jesse ordered.

Hardcase chuckled and lugged a rocket launcher over his shoulder. He fired it at the enemy repeating turrets. One of the emplacements were vaporized. The trooper then tossed the empty launcher to the side and took out his DC-15L, which was a more advance version of the 'A'. He placed it on the edge of the roof and fired it at the enemy.

Several of Maul's troopers took cover. Those that didn't received a blaster bolt through the brain, curtesy of Jesse, the team's expert marksman. With the enemy troopers on the roof suppressed, Ahsoka and Rex moved down into the streets below.

When Ahsoka landed, she was fired upon by several of Maul's troopers. She started deflecting all of their shots before her feet hit the ground, even killing a couple of them. The distracted mandalorians were gunned down by Rex and his men as they landed in the streets with their rocket-packs.

They got to work and began to push their way into the building. The entrance began to close up on her. Ahsoka sprinted and slid underneath the door and used the force to try and keep it open.

Rex dove and somersaulted underneath the door after her.

But before any of Coric's boys could get through, the Shadow Collective troopers inside sprung into action, and began to fire on the pair from above. Rex turned around and began to fire on the troopers above. With his dual pistols, he hit two of the troopers, and caused them to lean over the balcony and fall to their deaths. Ahsoka let go of the doors and activated her lightsabers, deflecting any shot they came down upon them.

" _Damnit, the door's sealed. We're locked outside ... and enemy reinforcements are on their way._ " Sgt. Coric said over the comm. Ahsoka could hear blaster fire in the background of the transmission.

"It's okay sergeant, we'll take it from here," Ahsoka said into the comm as she deflected another shot up into a Maul trooper's face. "Just hold back Maul' forces".

Ahsoka and Rex continued to fight off Maul's troopers, who continued to fire down on the pair. When the last Maul trooper fell, they moved up to the second floor. But when they got there, they saw the generator room for the power plant, that powered the city's defenses, blocked off. The door was locked down with a shield over it.

"UUUhhck! What is it with Maul and doors?" Ahsoka asked as she swiped one of her blades at the shield, causing it to spark in response to her blade. She turned back to Rex. "You got any bright ideas Rex?"

Rex reached into his utility belt and pulled out a small detonator. "Yeah, I think I've got a few ideas. You see those pillars?" Rex asked, gesturing to the large pillars that kept the building stable. "We take out those pillars, and then bring the whole building down on the reactor".

Ahsoka looked at the pillars. Then she nodded. "Yell alright Rex," she praised with a smile. Then she tossed him the few grenades she had on her. "You plant those charges, I'll cut us a way out".

Rex nodded and rushed off to start planting the few explosives that he had onto the pillars, while Ahsoka rushed to the door that they came through. She activated her lightsabers and plunged them into the door. She began to cut the door in a rectangular pattern. Rex ran around the building and continued planting explosives on the important looking pillars.

As Ahsoka continued cutting, she heard the door to the generator room open behind her. She then heard voices.

"It's too quiet. Go see what that Jedi brat is up too," someone said.

"There she is, get her!" She stopped cutting and turned around to defend herself. She began to block laser bolts that came her way.

" _Hurry up Tano! Maul's forces are pushing hard_!" Bo-Katan reported.

Ahsoka spoke into her comm. "RRReeexx! Time's a-wasting," she said as she deflected more bolts.

Suddenly, Rex came out of nowhere.

"I'm done, let's go!" He exclaimed. Ahsoka summoned a massive force push that sent every Maul trooper to the floor. She then turned around and slashed her blades in and 'X'-shape. She then kicked the door open as hard as she could. The door flew open and she ran out with Rex, who pressed his button against the detonator.

"Everyone get down. Get down!" Rex shouted, prompting all of the clone troopers in the streets to hit the dirt.

Several explosions blew out the walls of the building. Then, crackling sounds came from inside. The building was starting to collapse. Then, a massive explosion blasted upwards, sending dust and debris high up into the air. That's when an energy bubble formed over what was left of the building. It suddenly popped, and electricity began to crackle. A loud hum could be heard across the city, before it died down.

The power was off.

And for a moment, everything was quiet.

The strike force members, who were all covered in dust, gathered in the streets.

"Are we down here? or do you wanna level a few more blocks, just to be sure?" Jesse quipped.

"Hey, better safe than sorry," Ahsoka said.

Rex reached for his com-link. "Captain Autem, we've knocked out the power grid. The guns should be silent now. Where are you?"

For a moment nothing happened. And there was no response from Autem. For a second, Ahsoka and the others feared the worst. That's when they felt the streets vibrate beneath them.

 _RRRRUUUUMMMMMMBBBBBBBBLLLLLLEEEEEEE_.

They all looked up. Something was happening above the city. They could see it through the translucent dome above them. They could see shapes blocking out the morning sunlight. But they couldn't see anything in perfect detail. That's when they saw blue and yellow muzzle flashes. But then, Ahsoka realized that three of the ship were Venators, including the _Sovereign._ The three Venators flew in with all cannons firing, blasting pieces of debris off of the Shadow Collective cruisers that hovered over the city. They were followed by their remaining support vessels, and over a dozen Mandalorian frigates and light cruisers behind them.

Their cannons flashed and exploded as they sent heavy ordnance down range at the Shadow Collective ships. Ahsoka and the others could see fire belching out of the hull breaches that were starting to form across the hulls of Maul's ships.

" _We're right here Commander. You're reinforcements are heading to the docks now. I'm also happy to report that this is the last of Maul's naval forces on the planet and his scorched earth policy has been brought to steady decline thanks to our fighter squadrons_ ," Autem said.

"Glad to here it Captain. All right boys, let's get back to the forward command post. We're gonna meet up with our reinforcements," Ahsoka ordered.

"Come on boys. Back to base," Rex ordered his men.

" _Tano!? I wanted to thank you. You and your people really came through for us,_ " Bo-Katan said over the comm.

"Don't thank me yet. We still have to kick Maul out of power. That's the only way that this planet will ever be free," Ahsoka said.

* * *

After a couple hours of trekking back to base, avoiding retreating Shadow Collective forces along the way, they went back to base. What they saw showed just how dramatically the tides have turned.

Fresh Republic troopers and vehicles were moving through the streets. Gunships were coming in with more troops and equipment every now and then. More artillery and tanks were being brought up closer to the front, which now had a good view of the palace that was less than a kilometer away. Not to mention the Allied fleet that was laying into Maul's cruisers. Once the artillery was set up, the battery commander gave the order to fire. Blue plasma balls flew towards the royal palace. Explosions caused plumes of fire to rise, as well as debris and dust. The Royal Palace was continually rocked by Republic firepower.

"Hooah! That's right boys," Boomer shouted.

"Yeah! Show that spiky headed bastard how we get things done," Hardase shouted out.

"I bet Maul's having a really bad day right now!" Tup exclaimed.

Ahsoka turned to Rex. "Keep the bombardment going for another 12 hours. Then we'll hit the palace later today. If you need me, I'll be in my quarters," She said.

Rex nodded. "You got it ma'am".

Ahsoka went to go wash the dust off of her skin, finish her letter to Lux, and get some rest.

She smiled as she began to think about what Tup said earlier.

 _'Maul probably is having a bad day'_.

Unbeknownst to her, or anyone else in the Liberation camp, she was right.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Royal Palace, Sun'dari, two minutes after commencement of Republic bombardment_.

Rook Kast watched as her lord and master, Darth Maul, looked out over the veranda outside the throne room.

Republic and Nite Owl warships hovered above the dome-city, out of their sight. But they could hear the rumbles of Naval guns firing above the dome. The Allied fleet was doing battle with what was left of Maul's fleet. He could feel the dome vibrate as ship debris began to hit the outside.

The Republic invasion fleet also managed to deploy more reinforcements and equipment to the city docks. But now, more and more Clone Troopers were flooding thtough the city, ready to storm the plaza out front. But in the mean time, Republic artillery was set up less than a mile away, and began to pound Maul's forces below.

His regime was being pounded into slag.

Maul began to seeth with anger.

He growled in anger. He then turned towards the political prisoners that were gathered behind him. With the raising of his hand in their direction, they were all suspended in the air. Their windpipes were crushed before they were all thrown over the edge. This happened so often that there was no one left in the prison cells for Maul to take his anger out on.

The key words were _'anyone in the prison cells'_.

"What are your orders, Lord Maul?" Rook asked.

Maul turned around after his murder spree to face one of his lieutenants.

"Tell Saxon to hold his ground for as long as possible. Execute anyone who deserts his post. And get the bombs ready. We must go forth with our plans. Gather the last of our forces and bring them here. " Maul ordered.

Rook Kast bowed.

"Yes my lord," Kast said as she went back into the palace.

* * *

In a secret bunker, deep beneath the palace, Death Watch troopers were making the final preparations on three large bombs. Each of them had the power to take out a planet.

They all had a label on them.

One said Raxus.

Another had Nal Hutta sprawled across the side

The last one said Coruscant.

It was all apart of Maul's master plan to reshape the galaxy in his own twisted and demented image.

With the capital worlds of the three most powerful entities in the galaxy gone, and with Maul in possession of powerful weapons, people will beg to side with Maul amidst the chaos.

Whoever wins the battle of Mandalore will decide the path on which the galaxy will travel.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Ahsoka Tano's room, Sun'dari, one kilometer from the royal palace_.

Ahsoka stood under the shower head and activated the hot water which sprayed her.

She moaned in pleasure, feeling hot water run down her body again felt like pure heaven. She grabbed the soap and started to lather the soap in her hands.

When her hands were covered in soap, she started to rub the soap across her curves, her waist, her breasts, and several other parts of her exotic body.

 _'If only Lux were here to take a shower with me. I could use an extra hand ... or two,'_ she thought to herself suggestively.

Then after a few minutes, she stood directly under the shower head and let the water wash off the dust that had accumulated onto her skin. Brown-soapy water pooled around her feet before it flowed down until into the drain below. Soon, her beautiful fiery skin was cleaned of the dust of war.

When she was done, she stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her naked body. Ahsoka then walked outside of the bathroom and into her room. When she did, she could hear the sounds of Artillery. While only wearing her towel, she stepped over to the window, and saw the siege of Mandalore continue outside.

Clone ran around. Some were carrying wounded to the aid station. Some were going on, or coming back from patrol. The rest were standing guard on the perimeter, as Republic Artillery continued blasting away at the Royal Palace, and the surrounding Shadow Collective positions.

Ahsoka smiled to herself. "Hmpf! Go get 'em boys," she said as she walked over to her desk. "Let's make Skyguy proud".

She sat down and turned on her com-pad. She pulled the stylist out of a small compartment in the pad and continued to write her letter to Lux.

* * *

 _Dear Luxie._

 _I got your response. I'm really glad that you're all right. When this war is over, we'll be able to spend as much time as possible together. That, however, brings me to my next point: Yes, I'm playing around with the idea of being reinstated into the GAR. I really miss fighting with the rest of the boys alongside my old master. I really miss the old days. The only thing stopping me is the senatorial corruption. Well, at least if I do rejoin the GAR, I'll have you in my life without worrying about being lectured by the Jedi and kicked out of the order._ _I'm really glad that you understand. I'm lucky that I have you in my life to understand my position. Anyway, stay safe Lux, and I promise that we'll meet again soon._

 _I love you._

 _Your little 'Soka. OXOX._

* * *

Ahsoka smiled and planted a small kiss on the send button, which beamed her message to Lux's com-pad.

When she was done, Ahsoka shed the towel from her naked body and began to put her new latex outfit back on before she slipped under the covers, and went back to bed.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxx _xx_**

 _500 Republica, Coruscant_.

Padme's apartment building is surrounded by the smog-shrouded city of Coruscant. They sit on one of the couches.

"Has Anakin been to see you?" Obi-Wan asked.

She hesitated to speak before she answered his question. "Several times . . . I was so happy to hear he was accepted on the Jedi Council".

"I know..." Obi-Wan said. "...he deserves it. He is impatient, strong willed, very opinionated, but truly gifted"

They laughed. But then paddle put on a more serious face.

"You're not just here to say hello. Something is wrong, isn't it?" Padme asked suspiciously.

"You should be a Jedi, Padme," Obi-Wan joked.

But Padme's face remained stern. "You're not very good at hiding your feelings," she said.

"It's Anakin," Obi-Wan finally said. "He's becoming moody and detached. He's been put in a difficult position as the Chancellor's representative . . . but I think it's more than that. I was hoping he may have talked to you".

"Why would he talk to me about his work?" She asked.

Obi-Wan studies her. ' _She really would make a great Jedi'_ , he thought to himself. "Neither of you is very good at hiding your feelings either," Obi-Wan said.

Padme felt her heart begin to race at a faster pace. "What did he say?" Padme asked nervously.

"Nothing. He didn't have to. But Padme, I know you both too well. I can see you two are in love," Obi-Wan said. Padme recoils in response to what Obi-Wan said, a little flustered. She stands up from the couch and walks over to the balcony.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Padme said as she stared out at the city skyline.

Obi-Wan was about to follow her when his communicator went off. He answered it. "Yes Master Windu?"

" _Obi-Wan, prepare two clone brigades as quickly as you can. If this report is true, there's no telling how many battle droids Grievous may have with him on Utapau,_ " Windu said from the comm device.

"Yes Master. I'm on my way to the staging area now," Obi-Wan said. He turned off the communicator and turned his attention back to Padme, who continued to stare out at the skyline in utter silence. "I fear your relationship has confused him. He's changed considerably since we returned. I'm just worried about him".

They stand on the balcony and look off at the early morning city. After a few moments, Obi-Wan starts to leave. Padme stays looking off into the distant city. Obi-Wan continued speaking.

"Padme, I'm not telling the Council about any of this. I ... I hope I didn't upset you. We're all friends, I care about both of you," he said reassuringly.

"Thank you, Obi-Wan," she said softly, not turning away from the skyline in front of her.

"Please do what you can to help him," he said before he turned and walked away.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
**

 _Padme Amidala's apartment (later that day)_.

A little while after Obi-Wan spoke to Padme, she invited several other Senators and representatives, Mon Mothma, Bana Breemu, Fang Zar, Chi Eekway, Giddean Danu, and Bail Organa, sit in Padme's living room.

Several topics were thrown around during the meeting. They discussed several items. They discussed the war, and an upcoming election between Chancellor Palpatine and his challenger, Senator Tomas Dalyell of the planet Sera. They were also discussing the Chancellor's ever-growing emergency powers, which he used to expand the size of government.

As the senators had their meeting, C-3PO went around the table, serving a tray of drinks to Padme's guests.

"We cannot let this turn into another war," Padme said, worried about the possibilities of a civil war if the Chancellor didn't give up his emergency powers.

"Absolutely, that is the last thing we want," said Bail Organa, who was standing up as he addressed the people sitting down around him.

"We are hoping to form an alliance in the Senate to stop the Chancellor from further subverting the constitution, that's all," Mon Mothma said while facing Padme.

Padme turned her head and scanned the faces of her colleagues. "I know a Jedi I feel it would be wise to consult," she said.

"That would be dangerous," Bana Breemu said.

"We don't know where the Jedi stand in all this," Mon Mothma added.

"I only wish to discuss this with one..." Padme said. "...one I trust.

Going against the Chancellor without the support of the Jedi _is_ risky," Giddean Danu said, agreeing with Padme. Bail, who was pacing back and forth slightly, was nodding in agreement.

"The Jedi aren't any happier with the situation than we are..." Padme said.

"Patience, Senator," said Pantoran Representative Chi Eekway Papanoida.

"We have so many Senators on our side, and we have the election between Dalyell and Palpatine coming up. Surely that will pursuade the Chancellor to listen to us," Fang Zar said, somewhat naively.

"When we present the "Petition of the Two-thousand" to the Chancellor, things may change," Bana Breemu said, trying to reassure Padme, and keep her from doing anything rash.

The _Delegation of 2,000_ was the name for a group of concerned senators in the Galactic Senate, many of whom were part of the Loyalist Committee. These 2,000 individuals were bothered by the way that Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine had waged the Clone Wars; along with his accumulation of executive powers and constant changes to the Galactic Constitution. It was started by Senator Tomas Dalyell, who was running against Chancellor Palpatine for the office of Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, believing that it was time for Palpatine to be knocked off of his rising pedestal.

"Let us see what we can accomplish in the Senate, before we include the Jedi," Bail suggested while nodding to Padme.

All of the Senators nodded their own heads in agreement.

But Padme took in a deep frustrated breath before she lowered her head in disappointment.

 ** _xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_**

 _Coruscant, Republic military base, staging area for the 212th Attack Battalion_.

Anakin and Obi-Wan walk onto a landing platform overlooking a docking bay where thousands of Clone Troopers and armored weapons, tanks, etc., are being loaded onto a massive Republic Star Destroyer.

Clone Marshal Commander Cody, Obi-Wan's second in command, could be seen directing them onto the _RSV Vigilance_.

"You're going to need me on this one, Master," Anakin said.

"Oh, I agree. However it may turn out just to be a wild bantha chase," Obi-Wan said, referring to Grievous' slippery nature.

Obi-Wan starts to turn and leave.

"Master!" Anakin said to Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan stops and Anakin walks over to him.

"I've disappointed you. I have not been very appreciative of your training . . . I have been arrogant and I apologize . . . I've just been so frustrated with the Council. Your friendship means everything to me," Anakin said

"You are strong and wise, Anakin, and I am very proud of you. I have trained you since you were a small boy. I have taught you everything I know and you've been able to pass that knowledge on to someone," Obi-Wan said, referring to Ahsoka, who was still fighting on Mandalore with half of Anakin's legion.

The other half of the 501st Legion was divided up and sent to several other hot-spots in the outer rim, including Mygeeto, Felucia, Kashyyyk, and Utapau with Obi-Wan.

"And you have become a far greater Jedi than I could ever hope to be, and you have saved my life more times than I can remember. But be patient, Anakin. It won't be long before the Council makes you a Jedi Master," Obi-Wan said reassuringly.

Anakin's old friend started down the ramp, then turns back.

"Don't worry. I have enough clones with me to take three systems the size of Utapau. I think I'll be able to handle the situation . . . even without your help," he said with a smile.

"Well, there's always a first time," Anakin joked.

Obi-Wan laughed.

"Master? May the Force be with you," Anakin said.

Obi-Wan smiled.

"Good-bye, old friend. May the Force be with you," he said before he headed down a ramp toward the waiting Republic cruiser. A while later, the cruiser, _RSV Vigilance_ , took off into the sky, ready to move on to the front.

But unbeknownst to either Anakin or Obi-Wan, this would be the last time that they saw each other as friends.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **That's part 20 of 'FOTR'.**

 **Hope you enjoyed.**

 **Part 21 is right around the corner. Stay tuned.**

 **Feel free to leave a review.**

 **Until next time, this is Grubkiller, over and out.**


	21. Chapter 21-Calm before the Storm

_**Grubkiller19: This is not the Grubkiller that you're looking for.**_

 _ **Reader: This is not the Grubkiller that we're looking for.**_

 _ **Grubkiller19: You can go about your reading.**_

 _ **Reader: We can go about your reading.**_

 _ **Grubkiller19: Move along.**_

 _ **Read: Move along.**_

* * *

 **Hey folks, Grubkiller here.**

 **This is part 21 of my CW story '** ** _The Fall of the Republic_** **!'**

 **When you're down, feel free to leave a review down in the review section.**

 **Enjoy this latest chapter.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _RSV Vigilance, In orbit above Coruscant_.

Aboard the Republic Star-Destroyer, _RSV Vigilance_ , Clone troopers from the 212th Attack Battalion were preparing themselves and their units for the coming battle. On the floor of the hangar deck, Clone technicians were fueling and arming their space and landing craft.

Meanwhile, Obi-Wan stood next to his Blue Jedi Star-fighter. He was talking to several clone officers who had their helmets off. A hologram of the planet Utapau was being projected by Obi-Wan's new droid, R4-G9, into the middle of the hangar.

"Fortunately, most of the cities are concentrated on this small continent here . . . on the far side," Cody said to Obi-Wan, whilst pointing at a collection of sinkholes on one side of the holographic orb.

"I'll keep them distracted until you get there. Just don't take too long," Obi-Wan said to the veteran Clone Commander.

"Come on boss, when have I ever let you down?" Cody asked.

They both began to chuckle.

"Cato Nemoidia . . . for starters," Obi-Wan said while laughing. He was referring to a mission during the siege of Cato Neimoidia. They went to go capture Viceroy Gunray of the Trade Federation. They failed, because of coarse they did.

Obi-Wan climbed into his Jedi Fighter.

"That was Anakin who was late, I believe," Cody responded.

"Very well, the burden is on me not to destroy _all_ the droids before you get there," Obi-Wan said.

"I'll hold you to that," Cody said.

Obi-Wan gave Cody and his men a quick salute before he got into the fighter and took off.

His fighter exited the hanger and flew off into space, before attaching to a hyperspace ring. The small Jedi ship wasn't capable of going very far on its own power, so it required the use of a hyperspace ring.

When the Jedi Master was successfully secured to the ring, he made the jump to hyperspace.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Mandalore, Sun'dari, approx. 1 kilometer from the Royal Palace, day 3 of the siege_.

Ever since the Republic set foot on Mandalore, Maul has been doing everything he could to set Mandalore on fire, and had apparently hoped that the Invasion force would somehow burn with it.

But no fire was as strong as the one inside of every warrior that had come to liberate Mandalore. The flames would soon be put out. For the Planet's liberation was at hand. Republic and Mandalorian warships slugged it out with what remained of Maul's fleet above the dome-covered ruins of Sun'dari.

Heavy cannons in the streets belonging to the Republic hammered away at the fortifications in front of the Royal Palace. Blue plasma crashed down, while debris and dust were kicked up by the concussive force of every blast. Nite Owls and Shadow Collective commandoes buzzed around above the city's rooftops, trying desperately to dominate the skies above.

Back at the Republic's forward positions, Clone Troopers of the unofficial '332nd' Legion were rushing to their positions. They were preparing for the final push onto the Palace at the very center of the city.

The very center of Maul's brutal regime.

Ahsoka and Rex were standing over a holo-table in a tent with Bo-Katan. Captain Autem of the Republic task force, and Captain Broadside of the Republic's fighter and bomber squadrons, were also present via hologram.

The holo-table displayed the Palace and the surrounding areas.

"Alright everyone. We pull this off, we liberate the planet," Bo-Katan said. "Everyone remember the plan?"

" _The Sovereign, the task force, and the fighter squadrons'll continue to lead the fight against Maul's remaining ships and provide support when needed,_ " Autem said, as he gestured to his and Broadside's ships in the city's orbit.

"Me and Rex'll take Torrent Company through the buildings to secure our left flank, while Appo'll lead the rest of the men, and the armor, along the direct path to the palace," Ahsoka said.

"Perfect. If we stick to the plan, then we'll be able to smash through the palace defenses, and Maul will spend the rest of his miserable days rotting in a prison cell ... or burning in Hell. I'm fine either way. Now report to your men. We launch the attack in less than an hour!" Bo-Katan said.

That's when a clone officer from the comm center entered the command tent and saluted.

"Pardon me, Commander Tano, but you have a personal message coming through," the officer said.

 _I wonder who that could be_.

"I'll take it in the comm. center," Ahsoka said. Before she walked out, she turned to Rex. "Rex? You go ahead and gather Torrent Company. I want Cascade and Waterfall companies to hold back in reserve before they link up with us".

"Right away Ma'am!" Rex said as he reached for his wrist comm to speak to Appo and Jesse.

With that, Ahsoka walked out and headed for the comm center. She walked past the field hospital. There were wounded clones being patched up all around.

"Listen to me! You're gonna make it," a medic said to trooper that was groaning in pain.

"Somebody get me a bacta patch for my leg here!" A wounded trooper said, who had a laser graze across the side of his leg.

"I'm calling it. Time of death is 1120," a medic said before pulling a sheet over a dead clone. They pulled him off of the table to make room for another injured trooper.

One trooper came in with a clone that had stubs for legs hanging from his shoulders. "I've got a priority coming through. Make a hole!" The clone said over sound of the screaming trooper hanging from his shoulders. Several troopers fanned out to give them space.

Ahsoka couldn't help but feel sad.

 _'Will this ever end?'_

Ahsoka walked into the comm center and made for a room that had several terminals in it. She went over to the terminal and activated it. An image of her boyfriend from Onderon appeared on the screen. She was elated.

"Lux! It's good to see you," Ahsoka said, surprised. She was excited, but she wanted to stay professional around her men, and in public, at all times.

" _It's good to see you too 'Soka. You have no idea how happy I am, just to hear your voice,_ " Lux said.

She blushed and looked away from him for a few seconds, not wanting him to see her blush.

" _Don't do that_ ," Lux begged.

"Do what?" Ahsoka asked playfully.

" _Don't look away. I want to see your face,_ " Lux said.

Ahsoka's blush was getting more and more noticeable.

She then obeyed him and look back at him, her blue lekku stripes turning a shade of dark purple, and her cheeks turned red. They both looked at each other, getting lost in each others eyes.

What they had was beautiful.

"Oh Lux. I wish that this war would just end already. I want to be with you," Ahsoka said.

" _I know my dear. But have faith. The War'll be over soon,_ " Lux said.

She smiled and placed her fingertips on the screen in front of her. He smiled and did the same. It was as if they could cross each others threshold and touch each other for real.

Suddenly, a loud _BOOM_ made Ahsoka flinch. The building began to shake violently. As she looked up, dust fell down on her face. Ahsoka could hear troopers outside shouting in response.

 _"What the Hell was that?!_ " She heard one trooper in the next room exclaimed.

Lux shot up from the chair he was sitting in on from the other side of the galaxy to react to his girlfriend's sudden distress.

" _Ahsoka! Are you alright_?" Lux asked, concerned.

She coughed a little.

"I'm fine Lux. We just-*cough, cough*-we've got Maul cornered. And-*cough*-it sounds like he's trying to kick and claw his way out," Ahsoka said, reassuring Lux.

" _Oh, when will you be back? I can't stand you being away from me. Much less out there,_ " Lux said.

"Soon Lux. Be-," she started when a clone came in to interrupt her.

"I'm sorry to bother you ma'am. But we're about to begin our final assault on the royal palace," The Clone trooper said.

Ahsoka turned around with a grunt of annoyance. "I'll be out in a minute trooper. Just report back to your team," Ahsoka ordered.

The trooper nodded, saluted, and turned back out the door.

Ahsoka turned back to her boyfriend. She hated blowing someone off like that, but she was in the middle of something. "I'll see you again soon Lux," Ahsoka said as she brushed the tips of her fingers on the screen. "I promise".

Lux smiled and Ahsoka smiled back.

Without saying a word, the screen then went black when the call disconnected, leaving Ahsoka alone in the room. She coiled her arms tightly around herself and sighed.

 _'Soon. Very soon. The war'll be over, and we can live peacefully together'_.

Ahsoka smiled before her com-link went off.

She knew that it was Rex. So instead of answering it, she ran outside to join the rest of the troops.

It was time to liberate Mandalore.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **(I'm gonna get slightly political here, so if you don't like what I write ... well: _Too bad, it's my story_ ).**

 _Galactic Senate Chamber, Coruscant_.

It was just another day in the Galactic Senate.

Delegates from across the galaxy went into their repulsorlift-pods when the Senate was in session.

But they weren't debating another bill. But they were debating the future of the Republic. This was the debate between Chancellor Palpatine and Senator Tomas Dalyell, who were running for the office of Supreme Chancellor of the Republic.

Tomas Dalyell was the senator that represented the planet Sera, a heavily militarized and war-torn world in the outer rim. A determined and steadfast man with board shoulder and a balding head, he was once a soldier for the COG (Coalition of Ordered Governments) Army, which was one of the two factions on Sera. After 4 years of service in the army, he founded his own business that specialized in arms manufacturing. He then went into politics, eventually becoming chairman of the COG. He was a very accomplished man that wanted only to serve his God, his country, his family, and now his planet. When Palpatine announced that he was going to run for office for an unprecedented fourth term, Dalyell had had enough. He announced his candidacy.

When the political factions on Sera found out that they were apart of a much larger galaxy, they maintained an isolationist policy towards the galaxy. But in the first half of the Clone Wars, the CIS discovered the system, which was in the middle of a century long civil war, and tried to make contact with both parties. The COG and the other faction on Sera (the Union of Independent Republics) refused at first. But when the UIR, realized that the CIS could give them an edge over the COG in their war, they accepted soon after, which forced Dalyell to, very reluctantly, call the Republic for support. This friendship led to the joint COG-GAR operation in the Battle of Aspho Fields.

It also led to Dalyell stepping down as Chairman of the COG, to become Sera's senator. But ever since Dalyell entered the senate, he has become somewhat disliked by some of his colleagues. He was against Palpatine's government expansion and overreach, which angered Palpatine's loyalists. But he was also very militaristic and hawkish towards the CIS, which made the anti-war crowd dislike him. But in turn, he didn't like the pro-Palpatine and believed that they were authoritarian tyrants. But he also thought that the anti-war people were soft-centered and naive.

One half of the senate either hated him, or they reluctantly supported him, because he wasn't Palpatine. He wasn't exactly the anti-Palpatine party's first choice, but he was all they had.

Anakin watched from the sidelines as the two candidates debated.

They discussed everything from Taxes, to welfare, to social issues, to the War, and to the expansion of the Chancellor's power.

Anakin noticed that when it came to every issue, they were both completely different men.

When asked about Taxes, Palpatine wanted to raise them, while Dalyell wanted to cut them.

When it came to tariffs, Palpatine wanted to raise them, while Dalyell, a free-trader, wanted to cut them. Dalyell actually said that he blamed the Chancellor's failed economic policies on the rise of the Confederacy, which earned him a torrent of 'boos' from the crowd.

When asked about diplomacy with Hutt space, Palpatine wanted to maintain their alliance, while Dalyell wanted to cut it, not wanting to have to deal with pro-slavery criminals.

The two also debated a myriad of different social issues, which they sometimes agreed with each other, but also disagreed sometimes. Dalyell at one point said that he wanted Clone Trooper veterans to have the right to settle down on whatever planet they chose, and to have the right to vote in those planet's election.

The moderator continued to ask questions.

"This next question is for the Senator," the moderator asked before he read the question. "Senator Dalyell, Chancellor Palpatine has made it very clear that he wants to end the war with a total Republic victory. But you seem to be an outsider towards both major parties, concerning the War. Can you give us your opinion on the war with the Confederacy of Independent Systems?"

The Senator, who looked more imposing Palpatine, cleared his throat before speaking.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I want to make it clear that I want nothing more than for this war to end. But, as my opponent says, and for once I agree, the War must end with a Republic victory. The CIS have committed terrible atrocities that they must pay for. At the same time, many Confederate planets are innocent, and have left the Republic for legitimate reasons. The Military must be allowed to do their job, and use overwhelming force to bring the Confederacy to its knees. But when the fighting is over, I want the Senate to do everything in its power to welcome the CIS worlds back into the fold with open arms, and mend the wounds of this terrible War," Dalyell said.

He was given a round of applause from the senate that lasted about a minute, but at no point in the speech was he ever given a standing ovation.

"Now, this next question is for both of you," the moderator said. "What will you both do with your emergency powers when this war is over?"

"Well, as you all know..." Dalyell began. "...ever since this war, my opponent has used this conflict to enforce his own political agenda. Since the War started, taxes have gone up exponentially, which has forced the economy to grind to a halt. Tariffs have also been placed upon many outer rim worlds, including my own. With this administration's economic policy, we don't need the Separatist Navy to disrupt trade, Palpatine did that himself," he continued. "Under Palpatine's leadership, he has nationalized many different, manufacturing and shipping industries, and has fired many of the executives who previously ran them. This Government has invaded the privacy of any citizen that speaks out against the War or the Government. People have been stripped of their personal liberties and their economic security because of the way Palpatine has conducted this war. When I become Chancellor, then on day one in office, I plan to roll back all of the executive orders that this man (points at Palpatine) has ever signed, and help put the Republic back down the road of Liberty and Prosperity".

This time, less than half of the Senators applauded. The rest were completely unmoving and silent.

"Supreme Chancellor, you have the floor," the moderator said.

"Members of the Senate. People of the Repuplic. I understand how many of you must feel. But what my opponent is saying is slanderous. In the past, he has called me a 'power hungry dictator'. But nothing could be further from the truth. I love Democracy. And I love the Republic. Everything I have done, I did because I want to protect both from any of those who would seek to undermine them. Whether they be the Separatists far off in the Outer Rim, or a sympathizer closer to home. My opponent wishes to rollback our economic policy, which was crafted to support our War effort against the Confederacy. He claims to be for economic freedom. But really, he is only interested in the economic freedom of himself, and all of the soulless, and selfish industrialists, who are only interested in protecting their profits, and keeping them from being put to use against the Confederacy," Palpatine said.

People began to chatter excitedly, with a few short and scattered applauses.

Anakin smiled at the way Palpatine conducted himself in the debate.

But in one of the many repulsorlift-pods, Padme was shaking her head, disapprovingly.

Palpatine continued.

"But, this is a very legitimate question. I have been promising from day one, that I would give back all of the power granted to me by this Senate. I promise, that as soon as the Separatists are defeated, then I will return the Republic to a state of normalcy, and work with the Senate to build a bright future for the galaxy".

when Palpatine was done, his supporters (more than half of the Senate) gave him a standing ovation. All of Palpatine's answers were extremely well-received by most of the Senate, who responded to Palpatine numerous times to applaud his propositions and policies. The phenomena—which had not been witnessed since the reign of Chancellor Valorum—caused the debate to last for hours, as Palpatine, and the moderator, had to repeatedly pause to allow the applause and cheers to die down.

The State of the Republic was publicly broadcast by HoloNet News, whose cam droids in the Grand Convocation Chamber of the Senate Dome, focused primarily on the Palpatine-loyal factions, and widely ignored those senators who chose not to rejoice at the Chancellor's declarations.

It was very clear who was going to win this upcoming election. Which was why the Palpatine loyalists were celebrating, while the opposition members were stunned with fear for the future of their once great Republic.

A future that was both bleak, and fast approaching.

* * *

The Chancellor walked out of the chamber. He was greeted with fanfare and his political allies. He shook hands with the Vice-chairman, Mas Amedda and several others. Later, Palpatine met with a familiar figure.

He smiled when he saw that it was Anakin.

"Excellent work with the debate your excellency," Anakin said.

"Thank you my boy. Come, walk with me," Palpatine said. They started walking with four royal guards. "Did you see your friend off?"

"Yes sir. He will soon have Grievous's head".

"We can only hope the Council didn't make a mistake".

"The Council was very sure in its decision".

They soon enter the main hallway of the Senate Office Building. They pass several senators, including the Naboo delegation.

Padme and Jar Jar were speaking with their delegation. Padme saw Anakin but didn't say anything. But Jar Jar spoke up and waved to Anakin.. "Helloo Annie. Good en to see yousa".

"Hi, Jar Jar," Anakin said, in a somewhat disinterested many, more interested about his secret wife, who looked at him and the Chancellor with distance.

"Oopsin. da Chancellor! So sorry, Your Highness, sir," Jar Jar said with a respectful bow.

Anakin turns back to the Chancellor.

"There are rumors in the Senate about Master Kenobi. Many believe he is not fit for this assignment," Palpatine said, with concern.

"Not fit? Why would anyone think that?" Anakin asked.

"They say his mind has become fogged by the influence of a certain female Senator,"

"That's ridiculous. Who?!" Anakin pressed.

"No one knows who she is ... only that she is a Senator,"

"That's impossible. I would know," Anakin said.

"Sometimes the closest are the ones who cannot see".

Anakin becomes worried, and looks back down the hallway to see Padme, who's back faced his.

"Oh, Idle Senate gossip is rarely true and never accurate. For instance, I heard a rumor saying that your former Padawan was in a relationship with the new senator from Onderon".

When Palpatine said that, Anakin began to seethe with anger.

"Oh well, I'm sure your Master and apprentice will both do fine".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant, Padme's apartment_.

 _Padme calls out in pain. Obi-Wan is near her and softly speaks to her._

 _"Save your energy," Obi-Wan said_

 _"I can't!" Padme exclaimed._

 _"Don't give up, Padme. Don't give up..." Obi-Wan encouraged, as the vision ended._

* * *

Anakin was in the living room, working, when the vision ended. He sits on the couch where Obi-Wan was sitting when he visited earlier.

His wife then entered and crossed behind him.

"I sense someone familiar . . . Obi-Wan's been here, hasn't he?" Anakin asked.

"He came by this morning," Padme confirmed.

"What did he want?" Anakin asked.

Padme looked at him for a moment. Her husband was tense. She went over to him and sat on his lap.

"He's worried about you," Padme said.

"You told him about us, didn't you?" Anakin asked.

She leans into him. She placed a kiss on his cheeks.

"He's your best friend, Anakin. He says you're under a lot of stress," Padme said.

"And he's not?" Anakin responded.

"You have been moody lately," Padme said.

"I'm not moody . . ."

"Anakin! Don't do this again," Padme said.

"I don't know ... I feel . . . lost," Anakin said.

"Lost? What do you mean? You're always so sure of yourself. I don't understand," Padme said as she stroked his hair.

"Obi-Wan and the Council don't trust me," Anakin said.

"They trust you with their lives. Obi-Wan loves you as a son," Padme said.

"Something's happening . . . I'm not the Jedi I should be. I am one of the most powerful Jedi, but I'm not satisfied ... I want more, and I know I shouldn't," Anakin said as he got up from the couch and walked around.

"You expect too much of yourself," Padme said as she walked after him.

They stopped in front of the window in the bedroom. He puts his hand on her belly.

"I have found a way to save you," Anakin said. He was talking about Palpatine's legend Darth Plagueis, who had the power to save those he loved from certain death.

"Save me?" Padme asked.

"From my nightmares," Anakin said.

"Is that what's bothering you?"

"I won't lose you, Padme. Not after I lost my mother.

"Ani, I'm not going to die in childbirth. I promise you," Padme reassured the father of her child.

"No, I promise you! I am becoming so powerful with my new knowledge of the Force, I will be able to keep you from dying," Anakin said.

A worried Padme looked Anakin in the eye.

"You don't need more power, Anakin. I believe you can protect me against anything, just as you are," Padme said

The two lovers embraced each other and kissed. They kissed for several moments. Anakin swept Padme off of her feet and carried her to their room. She giggled the entire way. A few minutes after the door closed behind them, the sounds of moaning, grunting, and bed springs creaking could be heard.

It was Anakin's way of blowing off steam, and getting his mind off things.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Utapau. Obi-Wan's fighter._

Obi-Wan blasts out of his fighter's hyperspace ring and heads for the planet Utapau. The blue fighter skims over the planet's surface, which was flat except for a few giant sinkholes.

After gliding over the surface for a few minutes, Obi-Wan landed his ship on a Platform projecting out of the side of a giant sinkhole.

All is quiet.

A local administrator, Tion Medon, comes out to greet the ship.

Obi-Wan climbs out of his Fighter as a short ground crew looks over his ship.

On a ledge above the landing platform, unbeknownst to anyone, Grievous's bodyguards watched as Obi-Wan talks to Tion Medon.

"Greetings, young Jedi. What brings you to our remote sanctuary?" Medon asked.

"Unfortunately, the war," Obi-Wan said plainly.

"There is no war here unless you've brought it with you," Medon said with skepticism.

"With your kind permission, I should like some fuel and to use your city as a base as I search nearby systems for General Grievous," Obi-Wan said.

Median stood their with a blank expression. He then motioned to a ground crew that rushed out to refuel Obi-Wan's Fighter.

Tion Medon stepped forward and leaned close to Obi-Wan.

"He is here! We are being held hostage. They are watching us," he said to the jedi master.

"I understand".

"The tenth level . . . thousands of Battle Droids . . ."

"Tell your people to take shelter. If you have warriors, now is the time".

Medon and his associates gave him a slight bow that Obi-Wan returned.

Kenobi starts back toward his Starfighter as Tion Medon leaves the Landing Platform.

He climbs back into his Jedi fighter . His Astro Unit, R4-G9, turns to him.

"G9, take the Fighter back to the ship. I'm staying here. Tell Cody I've made contact".

The little Astro Droid beeped a reply.

On a high balcony, Tion Medon looks down on the landing platform. A few steps behind him stands one of GENERAL GRIEVOUS's BODYGUARDS. They watch the canopy lower.

"I told you, all he wanted was fuel," Medon said.

"What was his name?" the droid demanded.

"He didn't say," Medon said.

They watch as the blue Jedi fighter takes off.

Obi-Wan also watches his ship take off. He is hiding in the hallway. He quietly moved farther into the city.

* * *

The Jedi Master quickly rushes up a stairway cut into the side of the sinkhole. It's hard to see him. In an alcove, he carefully surveys the city, then quickly moves on.

The skilled Jedi continued on his way through the city, looking up at the tenth level with electro-binoculars from his utility belt. He tries to figure out how he is going to get up there. He heard strange bellowing cries and went to investigate.

He comes across a corral filled with about half a dozen dragon-like lizards. Several wranglers were standing around.

"That should do," Obi-Wan said under his breath as he walked up to the wranglers and used the Force with his slight hand movements.

"I need transportation".

"You need transportation," the wranglers repeated in a different language.

He didn't like using the mind trick on just anyone. But in enemy territory, what he liked or disliked was irrelevant.

"Get it for me".

"I will get it for you," The local repeated in his native tongue.

One of the wranglers turns to the others and chatter away in their strange tongue. Kenobi walked along the line of lizards, checking out each one. He looks at their teeth, legs, etc. Finally he pats one on the neck.

"This one," Obi-Wan said.

The wrangler brings the chosen one over to him.

"Boga. She answers to Boga," he said as he brought the lizard over.

"Good girl, Boga".

Obi-Wan swings onto the back of the lizard. The beast rears up and scurries outside to the edge of the sinkhole.

* * *

Boga rears up on her hind legs again, then climbs the wall of the sheer cliff and starts moving up toward the tenth level. The city appears to be deserted.

Obi-Wan is alert to any movement.

General Grievous stands before the Council of Separatist leaders, including Nute Gunray, Rune Haako, Poggle the Lesser, Shu Mai, San Hill, Po Nudo, Wat Tambor, and Passel Argente. Obi-Wan hides above the assembly and watches intently.

"It won't be long before the armies of the Republic track us here. I am sending you to the Mustafar system in the Outer Rim. It is a volcanic planet which generates a great deal of scanning interference. You will be safe there," Grievous said as he marched back and forth on his powerful mechanical legs, which clanked with every step he took.

Gunray shot up from his seat.

" _Safe?_ " He huffed out. " _Chancellor Palpatine managed to escape your grip, General. And without Count Dooku, I have doubts about your ability to keep us safe"._

Grievous faced Gunray and sized him up.

" _Be thankful, Viceroy, you have not found yourself in my grip. Your ship is waiting_ ," Grievous said before he walked away, coughing.

* * *

A few moments later, he stopped the lizard on a steel beam that hung directly above the command center. The Jedi removes his cloak and jumps down in the middle of the command center. He was about thirty-odd feet behind the Cyborg General.

"Hello, there!"

Grievous's magna-guards turned around and activated their electro-staffs, their electricity crackling loudly.

"General Kenobi, you are a bold one. I find your behavior bewildering . . . Surely you realize you're doomed," He turned to his droids. "Kill him!"

About a hundred battle droids surround Obi-Wan, General Grievous, and his bodyguards. Obi-Wan looks around. The bodyguards raise their power staffs to knock Obi-Wan away, but Obi-Wan ducks as the deadly staffs whistle over his head. The Jedi's lightsaber ignites, and Obi-Wan assumes a fighting stance, as the four bodyguards march toward Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan then looked up and used the Force to release a piece of equipment from the ceiling. It drops on the bodyguards, smashing all but one of them. Obi-Wan walks toward Grievous, slashing the last bodyguard to pieces. Battle droids move toward Obi-Wan, readying their weapons and aiming them at him.

Grievous motions to his droids.

"Back away," he barked. "I will deal with this Jedi slime myself," he announced.

"Your move," Obi-Wan challenged.

"You fool. I have been trained in your Jedi arts by Count Dooku himself," Grievous said as he brushed his cloak off of his shoulders to reveal his mechanical body.

His arms separate and grab all four lightsabers on his belt.

"Attack Kenobi," Grievous said as his four arms each start to spin around, using the sabers as propellers, slicing up the floor in front of him as he moved forward towards Kenobi.

As Grievous continued this deadly onslaught, Obi-Wan slowly moved backwards, trying to find the right moment to raise his blade to defend himself. But then, at the right moment, he raised his blade, and crossed it with Grievous' two spinning blades. Grievous then struck with the other two blades, which Obi-Wan parried. He held his ground, but when the cyborg general struck again, Obi-Wan jumped up and over Grievous, getting behind his back.

Grievous turned around and swung his blades at Obi-Wan, who had to anticipate each of the four swinging blades that came his way. He parried each blow that came his way. When Grievous swung all four of his blades at Obi-Wan, he ducked underneath the General's deadly swing and got behind Grievous again, who growled in frustration as he tried to land a solid hit on Obi-Wan. He attacked again, Obi-Wan managed to slice through one of Grievous' mechanical hands.

"OW!" Grievous growled as he dropped a blade. He was down to three. He stumbled back and looked at his wrist, and saw that there wasn't a hand there. He growled and launched another attack on Kenobi, swinging all three office remaining blades viciously, forcing Obi-Wan back, and keeping him on the defensive. But during this vicious attack, Obi-Wan managed to catch one of Grievous's attacks in a saber lock. He drove the blade down and sliced through another one of Grievous' hands, and forcing him to drop a second blade.

Grievous growled again, but managed to catch Obi-Wan in another saber lock. But he didn't plan on losing this one. As he kept one blade crossed with Kenobi's, he pushed him back with the other one.

With Obi-Wan forced back, Battle Droid sharpshooters try to pick off the Jedi from a distance. This forced the Jedi to deflect the enemy rounds. This allowed Grievous to prepare to launch another attack at the distracted Jedi.

But before Grievous could strike at Obi-Wan, a loud explosion is heard echoing throughout the sinkhole.

General Grievous, Obi-Wan, and every droid in the base, glance to the entrance of the control center and see Clone Troopers in the distance, attacking droids in the sinkhole. On the far wall of the sinkhole, Clones can be seen rappelling onto balconies.

Outside, Republic cruisers began to engage the Separatist forces. Vulture and Tri-droid fighters flew up to engage them.

The _RSV Vigilance_ began to use its heavy fire-power to lay into Separatist ground emplacements on top of the sinkhole, and clear a path for the Gunships.

"I may not defeat your droids, but my troops certainly will," Obi-Wan said.

"Army or not, surely you must realize you are doomed," Grievous taunted.

"Oh, I don't think so," Obi-Wan replied.

Twenty Clones suddenly rappel into the entrance of the control center, all guns blazing. Chaos filled the air around them. Laser bolts fly everywhere as Battle droids returned fire. Obi-Wan attacks Grievous, who defends himself rigorously with one of his bodyguard's electro-staffs.

Obi-Wan then used the Force to hurl Grievous backwards. He falls onto a lower platform and Obi-Wan jumps down after him.

More clones rappel into the control center and blast away at the remaining droids.

The Jedi master cuts down several droids as he races to the entrance of the control center.

Obi-Wan spots Grievous racing toward one of the landing platforms in the midst of the battle. Grievous jumps onto a Wheel scooter and takes off down the wall of the sinkhole. Obi-Wan whistles for his Lizard Boga.

A battle droid who was busy fighting off Clones with his squad looks up.

"Uh-Oh!" He said before he and his squad are crushed.

Boga runs over to Obi-Wan, who jumps on.

The chase begins.

As Obi-Wan's lizard jumped down to chase Grievous. But the force off the impact caused Obi-Wan to lose his grip on his saber, which fell into the sinkhole below.

* * *

Obi-Wan may not have believed in luck, but it sure favored him, as his saber landed on a landing platform below.

The platform was contested by a group of Clones and droids.

The lightsaber landed in front of a Super Battle Droid. It picked the saber up to examine it.

"Hey, be careful with that thing. That's a Jedi Lightsaber," one droid exclaimed.

"A what?" the SBD said as he pressed the button. The sword ignited and pierced through the droids own face.

He fell to the ground.

"Oh boy. That's not good," his B1 companion said, just as he was blasted by a clone trooper.

That trooper happened to be Clone Marshal Commander Cody. He moved up forward and blasted several more droids that were nearby. Cody then looked down to pick up and examine the fallen sword. He then looked up and zoomed in with his visor to scan the sinkhole's walls. He saw a wheel bike being driven by a familiar cyborg, which was being chased by familiar looking old-man riding a giant lizard.

Then it hit him.

Cody placed the saber on his belt and jumped up behind one of his troopers.

"Lieutenant!" Cody shouted to the trooper, who was blasting away at several retreating droids. "Take your men, and secure this platform".

"Yes Sir".

The commander then turned to his two best men.

"Waxer, Boil! gather your team and call in a gunship. We're going after the general," Cody said.

"Ours or theirs?" Boil asked as Waxer had his hand on his helmet to call in for a lift.

Cody stopped and turned to look over his shoulder.

"Both".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **That's chapter 21 folks.**

 **Hope you enjoyed.**

 **part 22 will be started soon.**

 **Don't be afraid to leave your thoughts in the review section.**

 **Until next time, This is Grubkiller, over and out.**


	22. Chapter 22-Secrets Revealed

**This is not the Grubkiller you're looking for.**

* * *

 **I would just like to start this off by saying ' _Happy Memorial Day_ ' to all of the brave men and women who are, or have, served this great nation with honor and distinction, and protect our freedoms everyday. I salute you, and may God bless you eternally.**

* * *

 **Anyway, here's part 22.**

 **Hope you all enjoy.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant. Senate Building_.

The sun is setting as the lights come on in the massive Senate Office Building. The sky is red and orange.

Palpatine listens to a delegation from the Senate, which includes Padme and several other Senators, including Jar Jar Binks, Nee Alavar, Fang Zar, Maledee, Sweitt Concorkill, Riyo Chuchi and Lux Bonteri. Anakin stood next to Palpatine, behind his desk.

"I understand your reservations completely, Senator, and I assure you the appointment of Governors will in no way compete with the duties of the Senate," he said reassuringly.

"May I take it then, that there will be no further amendments to the Constitution?" Padme asked with concern.

"I want this terrible conflict to end as much as you do, My Lady, and when it does I guarantee an immediate return to democracy," Palpatine said while smiling.

"You are pursuing a diplomatic solution to the war, then?" Padme asked, sternly.

Palpatine's smile began to fade away in response to Padme's question.

"You must trust me to do the right things, Senator. That is why I am here," Palpatine said to his old friend.

"But surely Chancellor, you'd..." Fang Zar immediately tried to say.

The Chancellor turned on Fang Zar and cut him off.

"I have said I will do what is right..." Palpatine said, cutting off Senator Zar, who immediately stifled himself. "...that should be enough for your...committee".

Anakin was listening to the meeting. But he snuck glances at his beautiful wife. he also made sure to kep an eye on Lux Bonteri. Lux was a new senator. A former Separatist Junior Senator, who's parents joined the Separatist movement before the War. He wasn't very popular with the old guard of the Republic senate, especially Palpatine. Even Anakin had reservations about Lux, mostly because he was dating his former apprentice.

All of the senators stood in silence as their chancellor stared them down for what felt like an eternity.

Padme was the first to break the ice.

"On behalf of the "delegation of two thousand," I thank you, Chancellor," She said with a cold, emotionless stare.

"I thank you for bringing this to my attention, Senator," he said with a slight bow of his head.

The members of the delegation of 2000 began to file out of the room. But before she left, Padme gave Anakin a frustrated look before she turned to the exit with the other senators.

When they all left, Palpatine turned to Anakin.

"Their sincerity is to be admired, although I sense there is more to their request than they are telling us," Palpatine said with skepticism.

"What do you mean?" Anakin asked.

"They are not to be trusted," Palpatine said.

"Surely Senator Amidala can be trusted?" Anakin asked, trying to defend the woman that he was secretly married to, and who was carrying his child.

"These are unstable times for the Republic, Anakin. Some see instability as an opportunity. Senator Amidala is hiding something. I can see it in her eyes," The old politician said.

"I'm sure you're mistaken," Anakin protested.

"I'm surprised your Jedi insights are not more sensitive to such things," Palpatine commented.

"I simply don't sense betrayal in Senator Amidala," Anakin said.

Palatine studied Anakin carefully and gave him a skeptical look.

"Yes, you do, but you don't seem to want to admit it. There is much conflict in you, Anakin," Palpatine said.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Mandalore. In the buildings near the Royal Palace. Day 3 of the siege. Concurrent to the events unfolding on Utapau, Kashyyyk, and Coruscant_.

Republic and Mandalorian cruisers continued to hammer away at each other above the dome-city. Fighters from both sides continued their dance of death. Scattered across the city, from the Republic held docks to the forward base, where everyone was getting ready for battle, several clusters of heavy Republic cannons continued pounding the enemy emplacements near the royal palace.

Bo-Katan stood in front of her warriors, who were ready to take to the air and fight against what was left of Maul's forces. But before she did, she turned to Ahsoka. "Tano! Remember the plan. Take the left flank, and eradicate whatever scum remains in these buildings." She called out, gesturing to the buildings off to the side on the way to the palace.

"I got it Kryze," Ahsoka said.

"Good. Because today, Maul's regime will be destroyed, and with it, Mandalore's chains. To me liberators of Mandalore. We have a planet to free," Bo-Katan said. She turned around and jetted up into the sky. Her warriors followed her up into the sky.

Ahsoka turned to Rex.

"Let's go troopers!" Ahsoka said as she and Rex took their men through the buildings near the palace. Their job was to clear the buildings and secure the Regiment's left flank. Along the way, as they moved through the alleyways, they saw bodies of Maul's troopers hanging from window sills and lampposts.

"What's all this?" Ahsoka asked.

"Our scouts have been reporting similar sightings. They said that Maul's hanging deserters in the streets. It's supposed to make an example for his remaining followers," Rex said.

Ahsoka looked closer. They all had signs on them, with phrases written in Aurebesh. One read: ' _I am a coward who refused to defend Mandalore'_. Shivers went up Ahsoka's spine. She's seen some disturbing things in her life, but this takes the cake.

As the company continued through the side streets and alleyways, the came up on the front of a large building.

Everything seemed quiet, when all Hell broke loose.

Shadow Collective blaster fire poured out of the building in front of them. Several clones fell from the storm of firepower.

"Get to cover!" Jesse shouted.

All of the clones dove for cover. But most weren't able to get up and return fire.

"Gah! Rex, we don't have time for this. We have to meet up with Appo and the rest of the regiment. I'll draw their fire. You guys use your grenade launchers and take out those windows!" Ahsoka ordered.

"You got it Ma'am," Rex said as he gave everyone a hand signal. Everyone who had a DC-15a rifle placed a small grenade launcher tube underneath their rifle barrels before they loaded a grenade into their launchers.

"Now!" Ahsoka shouted as she cartwheeled out of cover and ignited her lightsabers.

A storm of yellow blaster bolts flew straight towards her. The nimble young jedi blocked dozens of bolts with her sabers. When it seemed like too much for her, she dodged the bolts and jumped to a new position to block from, throwing off the aim of Maul's troopers.

While this was happening, several clone troopers shot up out of cover and aimed at the windows. They all fired their small rocket propelled grenades at the windows.

Ahsoka could hear several Maul troopers shout in terror. ' _Stang! Run_!' one said, before a couple dozen explosions blossomed across the front of the building. Debris was sent flying in all directions as dust fell from the roof.

"Now's our chance. Let's Go!" Rex ordered.

Every Clone in the company vaulted over cover, activated their laser bayonets, and charged the building.

The lull in the storm of Mandalorian firepower allowed the Clones to get inside the building, and get up close and personal. They entered the building through the windows, doors, and holes that were basted into the sidings, before they slashed, hacked, and blasted their way into the Maul troopers to secure the building's ground floor.

Ahsoka, who was still outside the building, took a running start and used the force to jump up high. The angle at which she jumped took her through a window on the 2nd floor. There was a Maul trooper in her way. As she dove through the window, she used the force to summon a shockwave that she sent into the trooper. He was sent flying through the balcony behind him, and then out a window on the other side of the building.

She then jumped up and spun around around with her legs extended, kicking the Maul troopers on either side of her to the ground, knocking them out cold with a single kick each.

Ahsoka looked down over the balcony to see that her troopers were still contesting the building. She then realized that they were still taking fire from the balcony on the other side of the building. She looked up above her at a loose section of balcony. She had an idea.

The young togrutan reached out with the force to grip the balcony piece. She struggled a bit, but was able to rip the section of balcony above her. There were still enemies up there apparently, as two Maul troopers still clung to the floating balcony section.

"What's happening?" One asked in a panicked tone.

"I have no idea!" The other one shouted.

The two enemy combatants screamed as Ahsoka threw the section of balcony to the enemy troopers on the other side, crushing all of them, before the balcony smashed through the wall on the other side of the building, creating a hole that led outside.

The Clones, no longer taking fire from above, saw that the tide had turned in their favor, and began to push the Shadow Collective troopers back. Maul's troopers began to fall back, but were immediately pursued by the charging Clones out of the building.

Ahsoka smiled before she jumped down to join them.

After helping her men in clearing out another building, Ahsoka became confident that the Regiment's left flank was secured.

"Alright everyone! The tanks are moving into position. Let's go link up with them!" Ahsoka ordered.

They all moved off to the side near where everyone was gathering.

There were no buildings (that were intact at least) between the Invasion force and the Palace. The space between them was all open ground.

High above them, through the translucent dome, Republic/Free Mandalorian warships battled what was left of Maul's Fleet. It was still close, sense Maul still had a few heavy guns that weren't connected to the power grid that Ahsoka and her men took out earlier. But they weren't enough to beat back the wave of warships that were apart of the Invasion force.

Fighters from both sides continued to fly across the sky to bring death to other.

Ahsoka's regiment faced the palace.

Bo-Katan and her warriors jetted, with Bo landing next to Ahsoka. Some of the Clone troopers had just equipped themselves with jetpacks. They would assist Bo's forces in the sky, and try to take out the remaining turbo-laser cannons.

Kryze turned to face her warriors.

"Warriors. Today is the day of our glorious victory. Before we begin the final battle for the freedom of our historic homeland, I want to thank all of you, Night Owls, Colonials, and Republic troopers alike, for your self-sacrifice and courage," Kryze said.

The Mandalorians cheered. This was their hour more than it was for Ahsoka and her men.

Ahsoka smiled.

 _'She might pull Mandalore together after all',_ Ahsoka thought to herself, no longer concerned about her ability to lead.

Bo-Katan turned around.

"For Mandalore. Charge!" She shouted as she and her warriors jetted up into the sky.

Ahsoka ignited her lightsabers and motioned her troopers forward. Mandalorian laser bolts flew towards her and her men, but she deflected every bolt that flew in her direction. Many of Ahsoka's troopers fell as well, but the kept charging nonetheless. They had to bust open Gar Saxon's frontline.

Lucky for the Republic forces, they could do just that.

The AT-TE's held back and blasted the Shadow Collective tanks that were dug in near the front of their defensive line.

The Nite Owls flew towards the enemy frontal positions and fired the rockets that were mounted on their jetpacks. Their missiles destroyed several anti-personal repeating blaster turrets.

The way was clear for Ahsoka's men.

Hundreds of orange Clone Troopers from the unofficial 332nd Legion, _Ahsoka's Loyalists_ , charged at the Shadow Collective positions. They vaulted over the enemy barriers and started getting into a heavy up close brawl with Maul's forces.

Ahsoka jumped up and slashed at a death watch trooper's jetpack, forcing him to spin out of control, before he crashed into a repeating blaster-turret and exploded. When she jumped off, she used the force to smash two more into the ground as they flew by. They smashed into the ground before scraping across the ground due to the momentum caused by their jetpacks.

The Clones pushed forward. Maul's forces were falling back.

When that happened, the AT-TE's marched forward, their heavy and secondary weaponry blasting away at everything that got in their way. Unfortunately, some of the things that would get in their way was enemy firepower.

A pair of heavy anti-tank cannons blasted the lead tanks. One AT-TE was hit in the cockpit and exploded. The six-legged tank collapsed onto the ground, lifeless.

"Take out those cannons!" Ahsoka ordered.

As most of Rex's men were in the middle of an all out brawl with Maul's forces, they could not get on those guns.

But a few of Bo's Night Owls could.

They swooped in with their jetpacks and flew towards the two cannons.

They strafed the guns to take out their crews, before they used rockets to take out the guns themselves.

It was clear.

Ahsoka's men pushed further into the ruins in front of the palace. Maul's troopers continued to charge out of the palace, while his Super-Commandoes, if they weren't dogfighting the Nite Owls, swooped in from the palace rooftop to bring death from above.

The AT-TE's pushed further into the ruins. Their heavy cannons pounded away at several bunkers.

Holes were blasted into the sides, and anyone inside was either vaporized or crushed by debris.

A platoon of AT-RTs charged forward with Ahsoka's men.

That's when another pair of heavy cannons fired on the AT-TE's. Another tank was hit. Twice. One in the cockpit, and another in the dorsal section that connected the front and back. It collapsed onto its side while flames shot of its interior.

Ahsoka, Rex, and Rex's squad took cover behind several makeshift barriers with a few other clone squads.

"Damnit! More of those guns! And bunkers!" Jesse shouted.

"What are we gonna do now?" Tup asked.

"Maybe we can use harsh language. Lucky for you guys, I've got six barrels worth of it," Hardcase joked as he held up his rotary gun and started spinning the barrels.

"Cut the chatter you grunts!" He shouted before he turned to Ahsoka. "What are your orders Commander?" Rex asked.

As he asked this, another group of Shadow Collective commandoes swooped in. The AT-RT's and the troopers around them fired up at the sky. More than half of the Maul commandoes were hit and spun out of control. But the rest fired their missiles. The missiles collided with some of the AT-RTs, which exploded and took several troopers with them.

Ahoska became frustrated.

"Grrrrr! We need to get past these defenses and into that palace. Rex, take your men to the right. Take out the gun and clear out the bunker. Hardcase! Toss me some detonators!" She ordered.

The hyper-active trooper reached into his back-pack and threw her a few detonators. She caught them and looked at her troopers.

They all looked back.

"I'm gonna go left," she said before she looked back at Appo, who was taking cover a bit of a ways back, laying down fire on the palace with several other platoons. The armor was hanging back with the other companies.

"Appo!" She shouted, trying to get his attention over the sounds of battle.

"Wha'da'ya need Ma'am?!" He shouted back.

"We're gonna take out the emplacements on the other side of these barriers. Contact Kryze and the rest of the company commanders. I want you all ready to move up with the armor when we've taken out those emplacements!" Ahsoka said, shouting out her command.

Ahsoka saw Appo nod his head in understanding. "You got it Commander!" He shouted back before he went to speak into his comm, presumably to contact the others as Ahsoka ordered.

"You ready Rex?" She asked.

Rex turned back to the other troopers, who all checked their weapons and nodded. Rex turned back to face Ahsoka. "Let's do this," he said.

Ahsoka smiled. "Now!" She should before jumped over the barrier.

"You heard her lads, let's go!" Rex ordered before he charged off to the right.

"Yes Sir," Jesse said.

"OOHAH! I live for this," Hardcase said.

Ahsoka charged at her assigned cannon. She landed on the barrel as she summoned a powerful force push to blast the crewmen away from the cannon and into a wall before they even noticed her. She then took her swords and dragged them behind her as she ran across the length of the barrel. When she jumped off of the cannon and landed on the ground, the cannon exploded behind her.

Ahsoka looked to her right to see Rex's men sprinkle their cannon with blaster fire before two of the troopers demolished it with thermal detonators. It went up like a fireworks display.

They then stacked on the door of the bunker to breach it. Tup placed the explosive on the door. When the locking mechanism was destroyed, the door slid open and the troopers ran into the two-story bunker to clear it out.

That's when blaster fire from the bunker on her side started to hit her position. She blocked and deflected dozens of laser bolts, but the Shadow collective troopers inside were too well concealed for her to get a good angle on them.

So Ahsoka charged the bunker and threw two of her detonators at the bunker, using the force to put them through the bunker's outer wall.

With her montrals, she could hear screaming from inside.

 _"Stang! Grenades_!"

She must've hit something important, like munitions, because a powerful explosion ripped a massive hole in the roof. It was big enough for her to jump through. No one was upstairs, that was alive at least. So she went downstairs. As soon as she got to the bottom of the stairs, the last Maul trooper ran out the ground floor exit.

When she ran out of the exit, she saw Rex and his men exit their bunker, which had smoke pouring out of its gaps. They linked up at the bottom of the stairs that led to the palace's front entrance.

"Nice work," Rex said, complimenting Ahsoka's handiwork.

"Thanks," she said as she continued deflecting more and more laser blasts from Shadow Collective forces that continued to pour out of the building and rain down heavy fire onto the plaza.

The fire from Maul's forces was murderous.

But so was the Republic's. The AT-TEs, along with the heavy cannons near the Republic's outposts, fired at the palace. Holes were blasted into the sides, and Maul troopers were blasted off of the roof.

Ahsoka peaked over her shoulder real quick and saw Appo and the rest of the Battalion pushing forward, whilst laying down heavy fire on the front of the palace.

"Nice of you to join us Appo!" Jesse shouted.

"I assumed that the explosions meant ' _advance!_ '," Appo said.

"Ha! That's one way to put it!" Tup shouted.

"Less yappin', more blastin'!" Hardcase shouted as he fired his rotary gun at a group of Maul troopers.

The artillery from the AT-TEs intensified. The enemy firepower was getting thinner and thinner until nothing was coming out of the building.

The bombardment continued for a few moments when Rex spoke into his wrist comm.

"Cease fire!" Rex shouted.

The Republic fire fell silent. Nothing was being fired back down at them. All was quiet ... for now.

"Advance!" Rex ordered.

Everyone moved up the stairs.

Rex was the furthest along, with Ahsoka right behind him.

They were nearly at the top when one more Death Watch trooper revealed himself from behind a column, with a few security troopers.

It was Gar Saxon, the Commander of Maul's forces.

He pointed his blaster at Rex and fired. "Victory or Death!" As he shouted, several bolts hit Rex in the left leg, right arm, his left shoulder, and the torso.

"Gawh!" Rex exclaimed in pain.

"REX! NNOOOO!" Ahsoka shouted as she jumped between Rex and Saxon. She deflected several more bolts. One flew back at Saxon's blaster. It exploded in his hand, causing major pain.

"Grrr! Block this Jedi scum!" Saxon hissed before he used his wrist vambrace to fire a jet of flame at her. She used the force to stop the jet of flame. The wall of flames parted when it hit her hands, continuing to spew in two directions on either side of her. Ahsoka then summoned a shockwave that sent Saxon flying into a wall. He dropped to his knees,but he recovered and got back up.

"This galaxy will burn. And you along with it. That's a promise" he said vindictively as his remaining troopers tried to push Ahsoka and her men back down the stairs to the palace. Gar Saxon then jetted off to the side behind the pillars with his rocket pack and flew round the side of the building.

The Ahsoka and the clones finished off the remaining Maul troopers. The clones then secured the staircase and the front entrance.

Ahsoka and several other troopers checked on Rex.

She got on her knees and ripped off Rex's helmet as her eyes began to well up. "Rex, speak to me. Rex?" She looked up and called out for help. "Kix! Get over here, now!"

Kix, the squad's medic, ran over very quickly. He checked Rex's vitals. Rex was moaning in deep pain. But the moan was so soft. It was like he didn't have the strength to shout in agony.

"Awh stang. We've got to get him to a field hospital, now!" Kix waved over to several clones. "Get me a speeder. We need to move him now".

"Is he going to be okay Kix?" Ahsoka asked.

"I don't know ma'am. I'll see what we can do!" Kix said as he and a few others prepared to carry Rex over to a speeder.

But-," Ahsoka was about to say. But then She felt a hand on her wrist. She looked down to see that it was Rex. It was as if he mustered all of the strength just to speak to her. Her eyes were bugging out of her skull, before they started to well up. But she just stared at Rex, who looked up at her with a stern look.

"It's-Ugh!...It's gonna be alright co - mhm! - commander. Don't worry about me," he strained. "The...the mission always comes first - commander. Now Go. go," Rex said before he finally passed out.

"We've got to go, now!" Kix said as he and the others got Rex off of the battlefield and went to take him to the nearest field hospital.

Ahsoka gathered herself up. The field of battle had no time or place for mourning.

She turned back to look at her troopers. Everyone was stunned. Ahsoka's comm device went off. She answered it.

" _Tano! We can't do this alone. We need you and your men to take that building. Maul's reign of terror ends today!_ " Bo-Katan said.

She then thought of what Rex said. _"The mission always comes first"_.

"Understood!" Ahsoka said before she walked over to the top of the stairs. When she got there, she turned around to look at her men. "Look everyone. I know how you all must feel right now. But we need to focus. We're so close to victory. We can do this. We have to do this. Rex is hurt. Maul has hurt a lot of people. That's why we need to finish this battle today. It's just as Rex said: 'The mission always comes first'. We're not just doing this for Mandalore. We're not even just doing this for the Republic, or the galaxy. We're doing it to honor those that we've lost, or will lose," Ahsoka said.

"The commander's right!" Jesse said as he walked up the stairs next to Ahsoka. "This is for our brothers".

Everyone shouted. "OOHAH!"

"Do you want to honor your brothers?" Ahsoka asked.

"OOHAH!" They shouted again.

"Are you ready for some payback?" Ahsoka asked.

They all cheered again.

"Then let's go!" Ahsoka called out before turning towards the door.

The battalion, in complete silence, charged up the stairs behind Ahsoka in slow motion. **(A/N: Lagging due to over exposure to pure awesomeness)**

"For the Republic!" Someone shouted.

Ahsoka used the force to throw the last of the detonators that Hardcase tossed her earlier. They hit the door and exploded. The door was damaged. As Ahsoka charged the door, she turned around in a 360 degree circle and charged up a force push, which she used to make the damaged doors fly open. Several Maul troopers on the other side, went flying.

Ahsoka ignited her green lightsabers and charged through the entrance with her men. Blue laser bolts illuminated the hallway as the Clones gunned down every Maul trooper that was in the hall. It wasn't even a fair fight for these Mandalorians, as they all fell to the enraged clones that stormed the palace.

Ahsoka pounced forward with her sabers, ready for the sting of battle.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Jedi Temple. Later that same day._

Ki-Adi-Mundi, Anakin, Yoda, Mace, Clone Commander Cody, and Aayla Secura talk via holograms.

"Master Windu, may I interrupt? General Kenobi has made contact with General Grievous, and we have begun our attack. We're moving to assist Kenobi as we speak," Cody said.

"Thank you, Commander," Mace turned to Anakin. "Anakin, deliver this report to the Chancellor. His reaction will give us a clue to his intentions".

"Yes, Master".

Anakin leaves the room. Commander Cody's hologram disappears right after.

When Mace was sure that he was only speaking to the Jedi, he spoke up. "I sense a plot to destroy the Jedi. The dark side of the Force surrounds the Chancellor," he said.

" _If he does not give up his emergency powers after the destruction of Grievous, then he should be removed from office,_ " Ki-Adi suggested.

That got him some surprised looks.

"That could be a dangerous move ... the Jedi Council and the Grand Army would have to take control of the Senate in order to secure a peaceful transition for another candidate. Perhaps Dalyell..." Mace Windu said.

"...and eventually replace the Congress with Representatives who are not driven by greed and corruption," Ki-Adi continued.

Yoda was still on Kashyyyk during all of this. But his wisdom was still as effective as it would've been if he were in the same room.

" _To a dark place this line of thought will carry us. Hmmmmm. . . . great care we must take,_ " Yoda said, being naturally cautious about planning a hostile takeover of the Government.

These were dark and chaotic times indeed.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Chancellor's office. Sometime later_.

Anakin walked through the ornate halls of the Senate Building to reach the Chancellor's office.

He walked through the door to his office. Anakin found Palpatine in a private room that was adjacent to the main office. Palpatine's chair turned away from a red hologram image of something. It looked like an eye-ball, but the hologram disappeared just as Palpatine turned to face Anakin.

"Chancellor, we have just received a report from Master Kenobi. He has engaged General Grievous," Anakin said.

"We can only hope that Master Kenobi is up to the challenge," Palpatine said.

"I should be there with him. I should be on Mandalore helping my old padawan," Anakin said, clearly not liking how everyone he's close to was out fighting, while he was stuck here. Although, at least he had Padme.

The Chancellor noticed the disappointment in Anakin's eyes. "It is upsetting to me to see that the Council doesn't seem to fully appreciate your talents. Don't you wonder why they won't make you a Jedi Master?" He asked.

"I wish I knew. More and more I get the feeling that I am being excluded from the Council. I know there are things about the Force that they are not telling me," Anakin said

"They don't trust you, Anakin. They see your future. They know your power will be too strong to control. Anakin, you must break through the fog of lies the Jedi have created around you. Let me help you to know the subtleties of the Force," Palpatine said as he got up and led him into the hallway.

They walked for a few moments.

"How do you know the ways of the Force?" Anakin asked, confused.

"My mentor taught me everything about the Force . . . even the nature of the dark side," Palpatine said.

This got Anakin's attention.

He stopped in front of the chancellor. He turned around to face him. "You know the dark side?!" The young Jedi pressed.

"Anakin, if one is to understand the great mystery, one must study all its aspects, not just the dogmatic, narrow view of the Jedi. If you wish to become a complete and wise leader, you must embrace a larger view of the Force. Be careful of the Jedi, Anakin." Palpatine paused. Then he continued. "They fear you. In time they will destroy you. Let me train you," Palpatine said.

"I won't be a pawn in your political game. The Jedi are my family," Anakin said, holding his ground.

"Only through me can you achieve a power greater than any Jedi. Learn to know the dark side of the Force, Anakin, and you will be able to save your wife from certain death," Palpatine said.

"What did you say?" Anakin asked, dumbstruck by how Palpatine knew about his wife.

"Use my knowledge, I beg you . . ."

Anakin took a step back and ignited his lightsaber before assuming a defensive stance. It was cloudy outside, so the gray clouds blocked out the sun, cutting off the natural light. The blue light from his blade illuminated the dimly lit hallway.

"You're the Sith Lord!" Anakin exclaimed, with venom in his voice.

"I know what has been troubling you . . . Listen to me. Don't continue to be a pawn of the Jedi Council! Ever since I've known you, you've been searching for a life greater than that of an ordinary Jedi . . . a life of significance, of conscience," Palpatine continued.

"You're wrong!" Anakin shouted.

Palpatine took a step away. His back was turned to Anakin, who still had his blade out, although his stance was becoming less defensive, and more aggressive.

"Are you going to kill me?"

"I would certainly like to," Anakin hissed.

"I know you would. I can feel your anger. It gives you focus, makes you stronger," Palpatine said with his eyes closed.

Anakin raises his lightsaber to Palpatine's neck. There is a tense moment, then Anakin relaxes, and then turns off his lightsaber. "I am going to turn you over to the Jedi Council," Anakin said.

"Of course you should. But you're not sure of their intentions, are you? What if I am right and they are plotting to take over the Republic?" Palpatine said.

"I will quickly discover the truth of all this," Anakin said.

"You have great wisdom, Anakin. Know the power of the dark side. The power to save Padme," Palpatine said.

Anakin stares at him for a moment.

The Chancellor turned back and moved to his office.

"I am not going anywhere. You have time to decide my fate. Perhaps you'll reconsider and help me rule the galaxy for the good of all . . ."

Anakin just stared daggers at him before turning away. He walked out of the office, the door sliding shut behind him. Palpatine sat back down behind his desk.

A devilish smile spreads across his face.

"You'll come to your senses," Palpatine said to himself.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Utapau, Pau City sinkhole_.

Obi-Wan gave his lizard a swift kick with the heel of his boot, and they took off down the vertical side of the sheer cliff. As General Grievous reaches the landing platform where his shuttle is waiting. Obi-Wan drops onto the top of the starship with his lizard.

Grievous growled in annoyance before he spun his scooter around and takes off up the vertical cliff face with Obi-Wan and his lizard in hot pursuit. All around them, the sinkhole is engulfed in a great battle between Clones and droids.

The people of Utapau, on the other hand, cowered in whatever shelter they can find.  
 **  
**Many others took up arms with the Clone Army to fight off their occupiers. They rode other lizards and large winged creatures into battle.

Kenobi and Grievous continued race through the city at breakneck speed, passing through battle zones, narrowly escaping explosions, laser bolts, and troopers from both sides.

Grievous lays the Scooter down as he goes around sharp turns. Obi-Wan's lizard breathes hard as she tries to keep up. They pass through the city streets, which separated the firefights between droids and clone troopers, as the Jedi and the General cut a swath of destruction through the city's cliffside dirt roads.

* * *

Above them, a Republic gunship was flying parallel to the chase seen. The passengers included Commander Cody and his men.

"There they are sir!" Boil exclaimed.

Cody looked out the side. "All right, light him up!" Cody ordered.

The Clones aimed at Grievous' bike and started firing their rifles out of the side hatch.

* * *

Obi-Wan noticed blue blaster bolts coming out of no where, tracking Grievous' bike.

" _We've got your back General. And by the way, you really should keep a better grip on your sword next time,_ " Cody said over the comm.

Obi-Wan gave a sigh of relief. "Just don't tell Anakin about this," Obi-Wan said. He knew Anakin would've loved the irony of the person always telling him never to lose his saber would end up losing his own saber.

" _Copy that Sir. Stand by: We'll get you the saber_ ," Cody said. As Cody's gunship tries to fly alongside Obi-Wan's lizard, Grievous works his way out onto the rim of the sinkhole, passing some massive wind blades.

The evil Droid General releases the brakes on the lethal blades, and they begin to spin, cutting off Obi-Wan's access to the General. When Obi-Wan reached out to grab his sword from Cody's hand, the gunship broke off to avoid the massive wind blades, with the saber still in Cody's hands. Obi-Wan's lizard pulls up short in front of the blades. Grievous laughs at the misfortune of his greatest rival and talks into a com-link.

" _Prepare to move out of orbit. I will be up in a few moments,"_ he said.

" _Roger, Roger_ ". Came the reply of a Battle Droid that was up in orbit.

Obi-Wan sizes up the situation, looking for a way to get to Grievous. The General accelerates off the edge, activating his claws, drops, and clings to another nearby grouping of windmills. Obi-Wan's lizard attempts to jump to follow and barely makes it, almost falling into the precipice below.

As Obi-Wan continues his pursuit, Cody's gunship reappeared.

" _General, there's another tunnel coming up. It's now or never!"_ Cody said over the comm.

"Alright, let's try this again," The Jedi said into his comm-link. As the gunship flew parallel to Obi-Wan's lizard, Cody held out the lightsaber hilt again, and again Obi-Wan reached out for it.

But then Cody looked to his left, and Obi-Wan could've sworn he heard him say 'Screw It!' Then he saw Cody draw his arm back and throw the lightsaber, which spun like a propellor towards Obi-Wan, who reached out and summoned it with the force, just as the gunship banked hard to the left to avoid a tunnel, which Obi-Wan continued into after Grievous.

 _"Tell me that I didn't miss,_ " Cody said over the comm link.

"You didn't. Thank you, Cody. I'll continue forward. Keep following my locator beacon as see if you can't find a way to support me," Obi-Wan said as he kicked his heels into Boga to get her to move faster.

" _Copy that. Happy hunting_ ," Cody said before the feed was cut.

* * *

As the gunship zoomed through the battle, it's engines echoing off of the walls of the sinkhole, Cody looked at one of his men.

"Keep tracking the general's movements. We may need to swing in and help him".

"Yes Sir".

* * *

Grievous' bike roared through the stone block tunnel system, riding up on the curved walls as he goes around corners or passes oncoming traffic. Obi-Wan races after the Droid leader, his lizard moving onto the ceiling as they pass traffic. Obi-Wan catches up with Grievous, and they charge through the tunnel, side by side. The Jedi master grabs the Droid's electronic staff.

Up ahead, extending from the wall of a small sinkhole on the other side of several structures, there was a secret landing platform with a small Federation Fighter sitting in the middle of it.

Obi-Wan and Grievous race out of the tunnel system and onto the landing platform. Kenobi yanks on the General's electro staff, then jumps off his lizard, which halts in the middle of the road, onto the General's scooter, knocking both warriors to the ground.

The bike's momentum carried it through a control room, before it crashed through the wall in a fiery explosion, and out the side of the building, where it exploded at the bottom, into hundreds of pieces.

Obi-Wan struggled to get back up. Then he heard the familiar snap-hiss of lightsaber, and looked up to see Grievous standing on the other side of the room with a blue and green saber in each hand.

"Here is where you meet your end, Kenobi!" Grievous declared.

Obi-Wan coughed and got back up, activating his lightsaber and assuming a fighting stance.

"We'll see about that".

Grievous opened up the fight by swinging his lightsaber repeatedly from left to right.

"Not bad... for a droid," Obi-Wan quipped.

"I'm no droid!"

Obi-Wan was forced to parry each of the successive strikes, but he was being backed into a corner. If he didn't strike back soon, then the General could just continue to barrage the Jedi Master with his seemingly unlimited strength.

When Grievous crossed his blades over Obi-Wan's in a saber lock, he tried to push down as hard as he could, trying to get the blades down on the Jedi's face. But when he pushed to hard, he left his legs and lower torso open to an attack. Noticing this, Obi-Wan kicked his heel out and made contact with the General's armored gut.

This move made Grievous stumble back several feet to the edge of the room at an open window. He nearly fell over the side before he was able to use on of his mechanical feet to latch onto the ledge, while his other three limbs swayed lightly to keep balance. But he managed to put his other foot on the ledge and balance himself just in time to see Obi-Wan charging him.

Thinking quickly, Grievous jumped up and flipped upside down, crossing his blades with Obi-Wan in an effort to push himself onto the top of the window sill, which his feet latched onto.

Obi-Wan jumped to the rooftop of the building below, crouching down as his feet hit the ground to soften his landing.

He then looked back up.

Grievous was swinging back and forth while upside, building up momentum, which he used to swing onto the landing pad when his feet released the window sill.

He landed onto the roof as well, and the two warriors faced each other.

Grievous pulls out a sidearm and fires at Obi-Wan. The Jedi then raised his blade, blocking the laser bolts. He then used the force to throw several antennas at the cyborg General. But Grievous spun his blades in response, cutting up the flying debris.

He laughed.

"At last, I shall destroy you! You'll thank me for ending your pathetic life!"

He then moved towards Obi-Wan, spinning his two lightsabers like propellors, forcing Obi-Wan to inch backwards.

"You're programmed to fight dirty".

As the two warriors stared at each other, the battle of Utapau continued to rage hard above them. A Vulture droid star-fighter was shot down by a Republic fighter. The burning droid fighter spun out of control and began to descend into the sinkhole. It's trajectory was taking them onto the rooftop that Grievous and Obi-Wan were fighting on. Obi-Wan looked up and saw it. Grievous looked back and saw it as well.

The General jumped clear from the rooftop and landed on a cliffside rock path, while Obi-Wan jumped in the opposite direction onto the other side of the circular roof. The droid crashed into he building, causing a fiery explosion that separated both warriors.

Obi-Wan coughed, but then he got back up, and when the smoke cleared, he could see Grievous staring at him. But then the General turned around and followed the rock path, which led into a cave that went into the side of the sinkhole.

Obi-Wan then saw a landing pad further away, and deduced that the caves led to the landing pad, which had the Separatist fighter from earlier.

He went on his way, and pursued the General.

When he got inside the cave, could see that it had natural lighting from above, and stalagmites grew out of the ground. But there was no sign of Grievous. Then he looked up, and snapped into a fighting stance when he saw Grievous falling from above, sabers ignited.

Not wanting to be crushed, Obi-Wan jumped from his position and over the stalagmites.

When Grievous landed, he created a crater beneath him with his powerful mechanical legs.

"Those rocks won't save you!" Obi-Wan declared.

Grievous merely started to laugh. "I will tear the flesh from your bones!" He shouted before he spun his lightsabers and charged at Obi-Wan, swiping away the rocks like they weren't even there.

Obi-Wan raised his blade and began to parry the spinning blades as best as he could.

Grievous caught Obi-Wan in a saber lock, and pushed him back. When Obi-Wan stumbled, he quickly recovered just in time to duck underneath one of Grievous' blades. He then scooted to the side and turned to face Grievous. When Grievous moved in for the kill, Obi-Wan slashed his blade across, trying to decapitate the Cyborg commander. But he missed, and Grievous lifted his leg and pinned Obi-Wan to a stalagmite with his foot. With his pray thoroughly pinned, Grievous spun around and swung his other leg, kicking Obi-Wan in the head.

When Grievous landed, he turned back to see that Obi-Wan was unconscious.

"HAHAHAHAHA! At Last!" he said as he bent down to grab Obi-Wan's saber. "Your Lightsaber is mine! And when i leave, I will use it to bring down the rest of the Jedi Order!"

When Grievous was done monologuing, he jumped into another cave, which led to his secret landing platform. After turning to take one last look at Obi-Wan, he reached for a thermal detonator and threw it up, where it stuck to the ceiling and started ticking.

"Goodbye, Kenobi!" He said before he began to walk out of the cave.

When he was just exiting it, he heard a muffled explosion, which caused the cave to rumble and quake, before smoke and dust shot out of the cave, shrouding Grievous in a thick shroud. When he exited the dust cloud, he could see his fighter, the _Soulless One_ , parked exactly where he wanted it.

But just before he could board, he felt one of his lightsabers moving. He looked down just in time to see Obi-Wan's lightsaber flying off of his hip and into the cloud of smoke. he looked at the dust cloud.

He couldn't believe what he saw next. A lightsaber came to life with a snap-hiss, and the brown dust cloud glowed blue, and a bearded man wearing a tan tunic walked out without a scratch on him.

"WHHAAAAAT!?"

"You'll have to do better than that".

Grievous reached for two of his lightsaber and reactivated them.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAAAHH! Let's finish this!"

Obi-Wan charged Grievous, swinging the saber at the General's defenses. He then kicked the General, hitting him in the stomach. Obi-Wan uses the force to pull an electrostaff into his grasp. He used it to bolster his lightsaber attacks on Grievous. Grievous, put one sword away and grabbed his blaster. But then Obi-Wan swings his staff, knocking the gun, and the saber, away.

A defenseless Grievous is hit by the staff again, and then Obi-Wan tried to thrust his saber forward, aiming for Grievous' chest. But the General dodges, and he knocks the Jedi's weapons away from him before he pulled him close. Then they engage in a furious fight.

With their weapons knocked away, the two engage in hand-to-hand combat.

Obi-Wan tries to rip open Grievous' chest, revealing the protective sac that held the cyborg's organs. Grievous looked down surprised and growled before he bashed Obi-Wan away with his mechanical arm. He then walked over and stomped his massive clawed foot into the ground, trying to crush the fragile human beneath him, his powerful stomps echoing through the ground.

The Jedi struggles to avoid the deadly blows of the brutal, unstoppable Droid.

He kicks Grievous, who's leg buckles a little from the blow, but Kenobi held his leg and cried out in pain.

Grievous laughs and hoisted Kenobi by his throat and tossed him across the platform. Obi-Wan slid across the platform and nearly fell over the edge before he barely grabbed it with his hands. He dangled off of the edge of the platform. He clutches the rim, trying to hold on. The Cyborg General then uses his two remaining hands to grab the sabers, stolen from the many Jedi he's slain. A green one and a blue one.

As he marched towards the dangling Jedi, his wrists began to rotate, the blades spinning like propellors, which chopped up the ground in front of him. The destructive force moved closer and closer to Obi-Wan. This seemed like the end.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes in order to shield himself from what was coming.

That's when he heard a loud buzzing and humming sound. He looked over his shoulder to see what it was. Cody's gunship slowly rose from the bottom of the sinkhole. Grievous noticed it too.

"What?!" He exclaimed.

The gunship's side hatch opened up to reveal Commander Cody and his squad. They fired their weapons at the General. Cody and his men fired their blaster rifles at Grievous, who started to deflect them.

Grievous couldn't escape unless he took that gunship out and kill Obi-wan. It was do or die. And sense he could kill Kenobi, jump really far, and hack away at the gunship, the choice was clear.

As Cody's team fired at Grievous, who deflected every bolt that came his way, Obi-Wan reached out with the force and summoned his lightsaber, which slid across the ground towards him.

Grievous was right above him now.

"You can never defeat Grievous!" He shouted as he prepared for the killing blow. "Never!"

Obi-Wan ignited his blade and thrust it upwards into Grievous' chest.

"Hhhhkkk," Grievous exclaimed as the blade was thrust into his vital organs.

He looked down.

The clones had ceased firing, opting to watch their Jedi leader kill Grievous. Grievous then stumbled back when Obi-Wan jumped back up and plunged the blade deeper into the General's body. He dropped all of his blades and began to groan loudly as his vital organs began to ignite. Obi-Wan deactivated his blade and stepped back just in time to see fire shoot out of Grievous' eye sockets as his brain caught fire. Grievous shouted, and his his eyes exploded in a ball of fire before he fell back.

The Cyborg General, the great Kaleesh warlord, the mechanical nightmare of the Republic, laid back on the platform, his body completely scorched and his mechanical parts sparking.

Obi-Wan stood over him as Cody's gunship landed. Cody's men emptied out of the gunship and secured the platform. Some of them walked over to Grievous' body and nudged it with their boots, making sure he didn't jump up to start killing again.

"General. Are you okay?" Cody asked.

Obi-Wan didn't look at Cody. But he did give them an order. "Send a message to Coruscant. Grievous is dead". He said as he just kept looking at the smoldering mechanical corpse on the ground.

Cody nodded and turned to his men to start rallying them. They all moved back into the gunship, which took off and headed back into the battle.

With Grievous dead, the Separatist armies would surely follow. By all accounts, the worst days of the Republic were behind them with the death of the Separatist leaders.

If only that were true.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **There's part 22 folks. Part 23 around the corner.**

 **Hope you enjoy.**

 **This is Grubkiller, over and out.**


	23. Chapter 23-Enemy of the Republic

**This is not the Grubkiller that you are looking for.**

 **Hey folks.**

 **Have no fear, Grubkiller is here.**

 **Here's part 23 of my ROTS/Clone Wars story 'The End is Near'.**

 **I hope you are enjoying so far.**

 **Please feel free to leave a review. I love hearing your feedback. Just keep criticism constructive. And make I sure I can understand what you're talking about. And for God's sake, NO Abbreviations!**

 _ **Disclaimer: One scene in this chapter is inspired by the Ahsoka novel by E.K. Johnston.**_

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant, Jedi Temple Hanger_.

Mace Windu and three fellow council members, Agen Kolar, Kit Fisto, and Saesee Tiin, were in the Temple's hanger, preparing to board a Gunship to go to the Senate Building. As the clones were making final preparations before take-off, Anakin came running into the hanger.

"Master Windu, I must talk to you," he said, slightly out of breath.

"What is it, Skywalker? We are in a hurry. We have just received word that Obi-Wan has destroyed General Grievous. We are on our way to make sure the Chancellor returns emergency powers back to the Senate," The experienced Jedi Master explained to Anakin.

"He won't give up his power. I've just learned a terrible truth. I think Chancellor Palpatine is a Sith Lord," Anakin said.

All four council members stopped dead in their tracks, to look at Anakin.

Mace turned to face Anakin. "A Sith Lord?" He asked.

"Yes. The one we have been looking for," Anakin said.

"How do you know this?" Mace pressed.

"He knows the ways of the Force. He has been trained to use the dark side," Anakin explained.

"Are you sure?" Mace asked.

"Absolutely," Anakin confirmed.

"Then our worst fears have been realized," Mace said as his three companions entered the Gunship. "We must move quickly if the Jedi Order is to survive".

"Master, the Chancellor is very powerful. You will need my help if you are going to arrest him," Anakin said.

"For your own good, stay out of this affair. I sense a great deal of confusion in you, young Skywalker. There is much fear that clouds your judgment," Mace said as he turned to board the transport.

"I must go, Master," Anakin protested.

"No. If what you told me is true, you will have gained my trust, but for now remain here," Mace said.

That confused the young Jedi.

 _'You never trusted me_?' He thought to himself.

"Yes, Master," Anakin said with a slight bow.

"Wait for us in the Council Chamber until we return," Mace ordered as he boarded the ship.

"Yes, Master," Anakin said again.

The engines on the gunship got louder as it lifted off of the deck.

Skywalker watched as it flew away in the direction of the Senate Building. He then went up to the council chamber as ordered.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Mandalore, Sun'dari, Royal palace, day 3 of the siege, concurrent to events on Coruscant, Kashyyyk, and Utaupau_.

The hallway was secured.

Ahsoka and her men moved through the building.

They eventually came up on a massive lobby. It had two staircases that both led up to the upper level. In front of the two flights of stairs, was a fortified position. Maul's forces had set up barriers, with scaffolding above them to allow more troopers to defend that position. Fire was rained down on them from the barriers on the ground, and the scaffolding above.

Several clones were killed by laser fire, before the rest dove for cover and returned fire.

Ahsoka deflected oncoming bolts with her sabers.

"Return fire. And someone bring up the heavy weapons," Jesse ordered.

Blue and yellow laser bolts flew back and forth. But it was taking too long.

"We don't have time for this. Jesse, Coric. I want you and your men to follow me," Ahsoka ordered.

"Yes Ma'am," Jesse said.

"Appo, Boomer, and Kano. I want you to lead everyone else up to the roof. We're going after Maul," she said.

"Yes ma'am," Appo acknowledged.

When Appo replied to his new set of orders, a team of Clone AT teams rushed up with their rocket launchers. As Ahsoka, along with Coric and Jesse's squads, went left up a flight of stairs, Appo called out to them.

"We've gotta get through that barrier. Concentrate fire on that target," Appo ordered. The three heavy gunners aimed their rocket launchers at the scaffolding. "Take 'em down!" Appo ordered, prompting all three gunners to fire.

Smoke shot out the backs of their launchers as rockets were propelled towards the Shadow Collective emplacements. Three powerful explosions ripped up the makeshift fortifications. Dust and debris, along with Maul's troopers, were blasted everywhere.

"Now's our chance, CHARGE!" Appo shouted.

His men activated their laser bayonets, let out a powerful battle cry, and vaulted over cover and rushed the Shadow Collective troopers, blasting or hacking away most of them before they continued the advance.

"The Clones have taken the lobby. Fall Back to the parliament room!" One Maul trooper shouted, as he and his remaining comrades were chased upstairs by the charging Clones.

Meanwhile, as Appo's men started taking the palace, Ahsoka's men went on a hunt for Darth Maul.

"What's the plan for taking him down?" Jesse asked.

"A crazy one," she replied.

"Ha, I like it already!" Hardcase exclaimed.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Mandalorian Royal Palace, throne room_.

Mandalore burned.

Not all of it of coarse, but enough that the smell of smoke filled the air around her. Ahsoka Tano breathed it in. She knew what she had to do, but she wasn't sure it would work. Worse, she wasn't sure how long it would work, even if it did. But she didn't have very many options. This was probably her best, and last, chance. She was there, after all, with an army and a mission. Just as she would have been when she was still Anakin Skywalker's Padawan. It probably would have gone better if Anakin were with her.

She remembered what he told her, before he ran off on his mission to save the Chancellor.

* * *

 _"I want you to be careful Ahsoka," Anakin said. "Maul is tricky. he has no mercy in him at all"._

 _"I remember," Ahsoka replied, trying to scrape up some of the brashness that had earned her the nickname 'Snips' the first time they'd met. She didn't think the effort was tremendously successful, but Anakin smiled anyway._

 _"I know," he said as he rolled his own shoulders, already thinking of his own fight. "But you know how I worry"._

 _"What could happen?" Ahsoka asked._

* * *

Now, the weight of her lightsabers in her hands was reassuring, but she would have traded them both for Anakin's presence in a heartbeat.

She continued to walk through the halls of the palace. Most of the guards were in a different part of the building, fighting off the Republic assault. But she could see that these halls were occupied, judging by the debris and the dead bodies.

She soon realized that Maul must've been responsible for them.

A few moments later, she came across the door to the throne room.

Ahsoka opened the door. Glass windows lined up the side of the throne room. She could've seen the destruction brought on by the invasion, had the windows not been covered. Outside, smoke columns rose from the horizon, and Republic artillery continued to fire away, blue balls of plasma hammering into the front of the building, rocking it and making it rumble beneath her feet.

She could see Darth Maul, not far from her, standing in front of the throne. The same throne that Satine used to sit in when Ahsoka was last here during a peace conference between the Republic and Separatists. The one that Lux interrupted.

Smoke from the burning plaza outside wreathed his black and red face, though it didn't seem to bother him. He'd already set aside his cloak; battle-readiness oozing from his stance. But despite his intimidating stature, Ahsoka walked toward him determined. After all, she knew something she was pretty sure he didn't.

"Where's your army, Lady Tano?" Maul called to her when he saw her enter.

"Busy defeating yours," Ahsoka replied, hoping that it was true. She wasn't going to give him the pleasure of seeing how much his calling her 'Lady Tano' hurt. She wasn't a commander anymore, even though the Legion still treated her with the same courtesy they always had, because of her reputation.

"It was so nice of your former masters to send you out alone and spare me the exertion of a proper fight." Maul said, mockingly the young force user. "You're not even a real Jedi."

Malice dripped from his every word, and he bared his teeth at her. His was the kind of anger that Master Yoda warned Ahsoka and her fellow younglings when she was little, the sort of anger that ate a person whole and twisted every part of them until they were unrecognizable. Ahsoka shuddered to think what Maul must have suffered to become this way. Still, she was smart enough to use it to her benefit: she needed him angry enough to think he had the upper hand.

"It'll be a fair fight then," she retorted, looking him up and down. "You're only half a Sith _._ "

That was rude for no reason, the type of thing that would've had Master Kenobi rolling his eyes, but Ahsoka couldn't bring herself to regret it. Taunting one's enemy was customary, and Ahsoka was doing to use all of the cards she was dealt, even if it wasn't polite.

However, Maul was right, after all: she was no Jedi.

Maul was stalking sideways with a dark feline grace that was oddly hypnotic as he twirled the hilt of his lightsaber in his hand.

Ahsoka tightened her grip on her own lightsabers and then forced herself to relax. She needed him to come closer. It was a bit like meditation, this waiting. She knew it had worked against Maul before, on Naboo when Obi-Wan beat him the first time. She reached out with the force and found it waiting for her, a comfort and a source of power. She opened her mind to it and listened with every part of her that could. Then she moved, mirroring Maul across the throne room and taking one step back for every step he took toward her.

Maul noticed that.

"No Jedi, but still a coward," he said. "Or did Skywalker forget to teach you how to stand your ground before he threw you aside?"

"I left under my own power," she told him. In the moment, the words felt like the truth despite the pain that lay underneath them. She ignored the hurt and refocused on her sense of balance, on Maul.

"Of course. And I volunteered for that garbage pile, and those first _monstrous_ legs," Maul said mockingly.

Ahsoka felt his rage swell within him, almost to the breaking point but not quite yet.

He activated his lightsaber and quickened his steps. It was easy for her to pretend that he'd caught her off guard, to stumble backward, away from his vengeful charge.

"I'll bet you volunteered for this, too, Lady Tano," he crowed. That much was correct, but he could perceive only her weakness. His anger blinded him to all else. "One last attempt at glory to impress a master who has no further use for you".

"That's not true!" She shouted.

Just a little farther now. He was almost ensnared.

He bore down on her, cruel laughter scraping out of his throat, and still she waited.

Then, just before she was in his reach, she sprang the trap. The familiar green and yellow energy sang as she activated her lightsabers and moved to engage.

One last feint.

Maul lunged forward and Ahsoka took a quick step back, drawing him past the point of no return. He swung his blade down, directly at her head, and she responded with all her strength. Her weapons crossed with his in a saber lock, holding him exactly where she wanted him to be.

"Now!" She shouted out to no one, as it appeared, in particular.

Maul was confused.

Ahsoka's response was fast, too fast for Maul's distracted defense. Ahsoka threw herself clear just in time.

The ray shield came to life, trapping her prey with his lightsaber still raised against her.

"What?" he shouted. "Grrrr. NO!" He shouted before he started to swing his blade at the inside of the shield. But to no avail.

That's when Jesse, Coric, and the others rushed inside and trained their weapons on the imprisoned Maul. This shield was meant for intruders that came into the throne room. Ahsoka knew about it for a while. It really came in handy.

"I can't believe that worked. Nice job troopers," Ahsoka said.

"It was your idea Commander," Coric said.

Hardcase and Tup went in front of the shield.

"Not so tough now are ya', you spiky-headed bastard?" Hardcase mocked.

Maul seethed with anger before slashing the shield again, repeatedly, making Tup and Hardcase jump backward.

"Holy Frak!" Tup exclaimed.

"Don't worry boys. He's not getting out anytime soon," Ahsoka said.

But just after Ahsoka said that, several Maul troopers came in through the door off to the side of the throne room. Right after that, several Mandalorian super-commandoes rocketed into the throne room through the windows they shattered. They hovered right above the throne seat. One of them was Gar Saxon

"There they are. Destroy them and free Lord Maul!" Saxon said.

They all fired on the clones in the room. The Clones fired back, with Ahsoka in front of them, deflecting bolt after bolt with her green lightsabers. Several Shadow Collective troopers fell, including some of the commandoes, who jetted out of control.

But a few clones fell too. Ahsoka and her troopers fell back, giving ground to Maul's troopers.

Gar Saxon shot at the device on the ceiling that was projecting the shield around Maul.

Darth Maul was freed.

"NO!" Ahsoka exclaimed.

"Hold them here as long as you can," Maul ordered as he retreated down the hallway.

"Grrrr! Maul's getting away!" Ahsoka shouted.

One Maul trooper ran up to her with a stun baton, shouting out a battle cry. "Victory or Death!" He shouted before he tried to swipe at Ahsoka with the baton. She crossed her main blade with the baton, and stabbed him in the chest with her shoto. She withdrew the blade from his chest just in time to deflect a shot back into a super-commando on the other side of the throne room, killing him.

"You go ahead Commander. We'll catch up!" Jesse shouted.

Ahsoka nodded as she sprinted after the dark lord. She force pushed several Maul troopers out of the way, going down the same hallway Lux was taken down when she was last here. Gar Saxon motioned to two of his men and they jetted after her down the hall.

Jesse, Tup, Hardcase, Coric and several others continued fighting Saxon and his men.

One death watch commando jetted over to Hardcase, and used his vambrace to latch onto Hardcase rotary cannon with a cable. He was trying to pull away his weapon. "Oh no ya' don't!" Hardcore said as he yanked back on the cable as hard as he could. He ended up pulling the commando towards him. It loosened the cable enough for Hardcase to get a good volley on the Mando trooper. He shot out his thrusters, making the commando fall next to him. The Maul trooper looked up just in time to see Hardcase bring the cannon down on his head. Blood ran down the troopers head and out of his helmet.

Sgt. Coric held up his rifle and used it to block a foot soldier's blow, crossing their rifles together. He knocked him back and began to bash the Maul trooper in the face with his DC-15 rifle stock. He was shoved to the ground, spewing blood and teeth from his mouth. Coric aimed down at the trooper's chest and fired, finishing him off.

The clones cut down several more Maul troopers.

Jesse aimed his dual sidearms at Gar Saxon, hitting him in his armored chest. The force knocked him back. Saxon, not liking his odds, threw a smoke grenade across the room. The room filled up with smoke, covering his escape.

"The throne room's secured, let's go after the commander," Jesse said to his men as they followed him down where Ahsoka was going.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ahsoka was chasing Maul, while being chased by two Shadow collective super commandoes. They fired on her. She deflected one of the blasts and hit one of the flying warriors in his jetpack. He spun out of control and flew straight into the other warrior, and forced them to scrape against the wall. Then the jetpack exploded, killing both warriors.

Ahsoka continued the pursuit.

Maul was speaking into his comm device.

She could hear the conversation with her montrals.

"Kast. Get the bombs ready!" He ordered.

" _But Lord Maul. The Raxus bomb isn't ready,_ " she said.

"I care not. Dooku is dead and his movement will follow. Worry about the Republic and the Hutts!" He ordered.

" _Yes my Lord_ ," Kast responded.

Ahsoka was shocked.

As she ran, she contacted Jesse.

"Jesse. I want you to send a squad of troopers to check the Palace bunker. Whatever Maul's plan is, I think he's about to go through with it," she explained.

" _Yes Ma'am_ ," Jesse said.

* * *

As The Republic continued to push through the palace, and as Ahsoka continued to chase Maul, deep in the bowels of the palace, near a secret hanger bay, Sgt. Coric and his team saw a pair of freighters taking off.

They reported them in and were ordered to look around the bunker. They also found a bomb labelled Raxus. But they also found two other spots. One spot that had once had a bomb was labelled Nal Hutta. The other one was labelled Coruscant.

The Coruscant and Nal Hutta bombs were gone. That meant only one thing: They were in use.

"Oh Scray! Sovereign command! Commander Tano! Anybody! We have a serious situation on our hands!" Coric spat into his comm device.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Nal Hutta, Y'Toub system, Hutt Space_.

Nal Hutta.

A ringed world covered by flat, marshy bogs, stagnant, muddy puddles and patches of sickly marsh grass inhabited by insects and spiders.

Known as the "Glorious Jewel" By the Hutts, it served as the capital of Hutt Space, and the Hutt Empire before that. The Hutts were a slug-species that ruled over a vast criminal Empire, which accumulated its wealth legitimately through mining and trading. But also illegitimately through smuggling and slavery.

The Hutts have remained neutral throughout the Clone Wars, for the most part. They traded with the Republic and allowed them to pass through their territory to fight the Confederacy after they tried to kidnap Jabba the Hutt's son. But they didn't contribute much to the fight.

For thousands of years, the Hutts sat atop a pedestal that towered over the outer rim. But because of a freighter that was entering the system, that pedestal was about to be obliterated. On orders from Darth Maul, his followers were on a mission to deliver a bomb to Nal Hutta.

The Hutts actually gave Darth Maul funding and resources when he and his brother put together an army of criminals, after they were forced to do so at gun point. But at the first sign of that movement failing, the Hutts severed all ties to Maul, fearing repercussions from his enemies. After that, Maul's criminal empire slowly fell apart. Then it rapidly fell apart after he picked a fight with the Sith and the Confederacy. And now, they were in their death throws in the face of a Republic onslaught.

Maul had two things in mind when he chose to target the center of Hutt power. One was because it was the capital of one of the three major powers in the Galaxy. With its destruction, and that of Raxus and Coruscant, Maul was hoping to plunge the Galaxy into chaos so that he could then plant the seeds for his eventual takeover of the galaxy. The other reason was more personal: Maul didn't like being stabbed in the back, so he set out to seek revenge against the Hutts, who abandoned him.

The Shadow Collective freighter slowly move into the system. It passed through the myriad of trading ships and Hutt warships that moved between Nal Hutta, and it's moon of Nar Shadda, and the rest of the galaxy.

The ship was eventually given clearance to land before it went to the surface and docked in one of the trading posts that dotted the swampy surface.

The Mandalorian freighter sat there for several minutes.

But no one came out.

When a group of kento guards walked out to investigate the ship, they were suddenly blinded by a white light that caused the temperature to rise by tens of millions of degrees. The ship disappeared and the guards were reduced the ash almost instantaneously before being blown away by a powerful wind. The explosion expanded across one of the planet's swampy surface, wiping away many cities and trading outposts like a giant nuclear eraser.

Gardula the Hutt's palace was miraculously safe, since the blast only effected one side of the planet. But several members of the Hutt family were killed.

Millions of people were wiped away in seconds. Those closest to the blast were the lucky ones, for they didn't suffer any pain. But the rest screamed as they were burned alive by the burning winds that blew across the planet. Debris was carried up into the sky and hung in the atmosphere, completely blocking out the sun. As soon as the fires were done raging, there was going to be an instant winter cast onto the surface for at least the next few years.

Aside from the radioactive fires that raged across the planet, nothing made a sound.

With the destruction of its 15,000 year old capital, its trading posts, and the death of several prominent members of the Hutt crime family council, the Hutt Empire was soon in utter chaos, as many rival families gathered their strength and seize control of whatever remained of the Empire. The seat of power was moved south to Tatooine, the home of Jabba's Palace.

Soon, all galactic trade was shut down. The borders were shut down, but weren't properly enforced, allowing Separatist and Republic forces to move their fleets through hutt Space at will. Civil war raged across Hutt Space, as Jabba struggled to maintain his Criminal Empire against all of his rivals.

The Hutt Empire, which was at its peak before the bombing of Nal Hutta, was down in the middle of a downward spiral from which it would never fully recover from.

This was just the beginning.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Shadow Collective task force, somewhere along the Hydian Way hyperspace lane, en route to Coruscant_.

Rook Kast watched as her ship was suddenly ripped out of Hyperspace. They were carrying a bomb that was meant to destroy Coruscant.

"What the Hell was that?" She called out.

"Ma'am, we were pulled out of hyperspace by some gravitational field," an officer called out. "It's coming from that Republic cruiser".

He was referring to a Republic star-cruiser with a flat bridge superstructure, and two large domes in from of it. The Interdictor-class Star-Destroyer (two-thirds the size of a Venator) was designed to use its gravitational fields to pull ships out of hyperspace. The ship was being escorted by an Arquitens-class Light Cruiser and two consular class frigates.

Apparently a squad of clones discovered their plot to destroy the Republic capital, and now the Republic fleet was ready for them.

"All units, target that Star-Destroyer. Take out the gravity field and get this ship to Coruscant," she ordered. She went below deck and got into her fighter, to lead her squadron into battle.

The Republic fighter escort did battle with Rook Kast's squadron.

"We can't allow the Republic to stop this shipment. DESTROY THEM!" She ordered, as her fighter squadron accelerated towards the Republic strike force.

Both sides suffered casualties as they flew in a deadly dogfight in the asteroids. The two Mandalorian frigates tried to blast their way through and make a suicide run on the Star-Destroyer.

But after hearing the reports from Nal Hutta, and hearing about Maul's plans, the Republic was even more relentless than the Mandalorians.

The Republic fired everything they had at the two charging Mandalorian frigates, which were ripped apart by Republic fire before exploding. Rook Kast's squadron took out several Republic fighters, but her squadron's success was taken even heavier casualties. One by one, her wingmen were shot down.

That's when the Republic light cruiser fired a pair of proton torpedoes at the freighter. The nuclear payload meant for Coruscant detonated and wiped out everything. Asteroids shattered and fighters were caught in the blast. The freighter that Kast's forces were protecting had vanished in a flash of energy that began to expand outward, destroying everything that it overtook.

The Republic task force struggled to get out of the way. The two frigates and the remaining ARC-170s managed to get away and make the jump to hyperspace.

But the light cruiser and the Interdictor were to slow. Before they could make the jump, the blast took over both ships, vaporizing them.

As she felt the blast wave overtake her ship and cast her into the dark abyss, Rook Kast didn't have any anger or self-doubt flowing through her mind. But instead, she felt intense pride.

 _'Victory or Death'_.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Parliament chamber, Royal Palace, Sun'dari_.

Lieutenant Appo and the rest of the Clones were taking cover near a busted open wall, where they fired on the enemy forces on the other side of the parliament chamber.

The other side, near several podiums, the Shadow Collective had set up several heavy emplacements to keep the Republic invaders at bay. The rows of benches across the floor of the chamber were being used as cover by Maul's forces. Heavy fire was being thrown at Appo's men. It was murderous, and they couldn't get a good shot.

So he sent Boomer's squad of clones to thin out the enemy forces from above. The clone squad ran upstairs to fire on the Maul troopers from a second floor balcony. They picked off Maul's troopers one by one until it was okay for the rest of the men to advance.

But Maul's forces had the same idea. They had troopers on the balcony on the other side of the chamber, and they were trying to pick off the clones. More Death Watch troopers started using their flame vambraces to keep the clones at bay.

That's when Bo-Katan and some of her fliers came in and shot at some of Maul's super-commandoes. They were killed, and the Clone troopers on the balcony started picking off more Maul troopers.

"Nice of you to join us Kryze," Appo said.

"Where's Tano?" Bo asked as she fired her blaster at another Maul trooper that got too close.

"She went after Maul," Appo said.

"Well then, I guess we'll have to take this palace ourselves," she said as she bent over and fired her rocket at a massive statue of Darth Maul. The statue collapsed and crushed a Shadow Collective weapon emplacement. "As his statue falls, so to will his regime. Forward!" Bo-Katan ordered.

Appo and Kryze, along with their men, charged at the remaining Maul troopers. They were all killed or they fled deeper into the palace.

Mostly killed.

Appo and Kryze's men ran upstairs and pushed through a few retreating Shadow Collective warriors. The allied troopers found themselves in a maintenance area. It had stairs that led to the roof.

"We must be close to the roof. Look how far we've come," Sgt. Kano said.

"I say we throw these animals over the edge!" A Night Owl said.

"Lieutenant, our backup is moving into the building as we speak," Sgt. Boomer said.

"They can mop up what we missed. We should push forward," Appo said to Kryze.

"Agreed," she replied. "Soon, the bloody heart of Maul's empire will beat for the last time".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant_.

Anakin walked into the Council Chamber, which was unsettlingly empty. He then found a seat and occupied it. The young Jedi was doing as Master Windu had ordered hi to do. He was to wait in the chamber until they returned from their mission to deal with Palpatine.

But he couldn't help but feel conflicted. He started to think of what Palpatine told him before he left his office to warn the Council.

 _"You do know, don't you, if the Jedi destroy me, any chance of saving her will be lost,"_ Palpatine's voice said, echoing in Anakin's mind _._

* * *

Over at 500 Republica, Padme sat on her couch, deep in thought. She was thinking of what Obi-Wan told her earlier, about how Anakin had become moody and difficult since they came back from their mission in orbit. Anakin was close to Palpatine. Perhaps too close. She walked up from her couch and walked over to one of the large curved windows that gave her a good view of Coruscant's dusk skyline. Across it, through the forest of skyscrapers, she could see the Jedi Temple, where her husband was.

* * *

Back in the Council Chamber, Anakin stood up from the chair and walked over to the window. He could see 500 Republic, where his wife lived.

His pregnant wife, who he cared for.

Who he feared for.

Neither he or Padme realized this, but they were actually staring at each other from a distance of 5 miles. But somehow, they could feel each other's presence.

 _"I truly, deeply love you. Before I die. I want you to know_ ," imaginary Padme said in Anakin's head, before she died in childbirth. As this vision came across his mind, his eyes began to well up, and a single tear flowed down his cheek.

 _'I can't let this happen,'_ Anakin thought to himself.

Anakin rushed out of the Council Chamber and rushed down to the main hanger below. He grabbed R2-D2, and took a green Jedi-Starfighter. The hangar door opens and he lifts off.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Senate Building, Coruscant, Dusk_.

Dark storm clouds loom over the rapidly setting sun as a Gunship lands on the Senate Office Building landing platform. Four Jedi Masters exit the ship and enter the Senate Office Building. Mace Windu, Agen Kolar, Kit Fisto, and Saesee Tiin, like gunfighters out of the Old West, walk through the massive hallway, four across.

One of them pressed a button on his wrist device. It sent out a small signal, along with a message.

 _'Palpatine is a traitor. Send help'_.

The four Jedi enter the lobby. It was deserted. They then stormed into the Chancellor's office. Palpatine was sitting in the same room that he was sitting in when Anakin learned the truth about Palpatine, looking out of a window. His chair rotated when he heard the four Jedi enter the room.

"Master Windu. I take it General Grievous has been destroyed then. I must say, you're here sooner than expected," Palpatine said somewhat innocently, acting like they were here for a different reason.

But the unfazed Jedi merely stood their with cold expressions as they reached for their belts. "In the name of the Galactic Senate of the Republic, you are under arrest, Chancellor," Mace said as he and the others masters ignited and raised their blades.

"Are you threatening me, Master Jedi?" Palpatine asked with venom in his voice.

"The Senate will decide your fate," Mace said, his face showing no emotion.

Palpatine sat up straighter in his chair.

"I _am._ The Senate!" The chancellor burst out angrily, with venom in his voice.

"Not yet!" Mace said.

Palpatine stood up. A lightsaber appeared out of each sleeve and into his hands. All for Jedi tensed up and assumed a defensive stance.

"It's treason, then," Palpatine hissed out before a sickening screech emitted from his throat.

He spun around as he jumped towards the four Jedi. Before he landed, he continued spinning in a circle with his two blades extended. before he could defend himself properly, Agen Kolar was sliced across his chest in a circular before he screamed in pain.

"Scatter!" Mace ordered.

Kit and Saesee fanned out, with Mace in the middle of the group. They all advanced and surrounded Palpatine. The Sith Lord swung his blades wildly as he parried each of the three master's strikes.

He leaned down and placed his hand on the ground, using the force to release a shockwave that pushed all of the masters back. Palatine then used his lightning on all three jedi.

All three of them swiftly blocked the deadly blow.

But the Jedi soon realized that they were in a precarious situation. Saesee Tiin was isolated near the window, while Kit and Mace were right next to each other on the other side of Palpatine near the door they came through.

The Sith Lord pointed his swords behind him and dashed backwards. Both of his swords plunged into Saesee's body, the swords piercing and cooking his organs. Palpatine withdrew his blades, his kill slumping to the ground, dead.

It was just Mace and Kit versus the most powerful man in the galaxy, both literally and figuratively.

They looked at each other and nodded.

Sidious looked at the two remaining Jedi. He yelled out a battle cry and lunged at them, continuing the battle. Kit and Mace carefully parried their attacker's strikes. They also slowly withdrew into the hallway. They were going to move the battlefield in the main office.

All three combatants fight their way down the hallway and into the main office area, their swinging swords slashing the narrow hallway before clashing. Palpatine is able to use the Force to slam Kit Fisto against the wall, but he recovers before the Chancellor can turn around to focus solely on Mace.

The vicious battle for the fate of the galaxy continued, as both Jedi masters started to gang up on Palpatine. Sidious force pushed Kit Fisto back across the room while using force lightning on him. Kit was thrown against a wall, knocking him unconscious.

As Palpatine was focused on the younger nautolan Jedi, Mace raised his blade and began to swing it down. Before Palpatine could refocus his efforts back on Mace, the powerful 53 year old Jedi master swung his purple blade at the perfect angle. He slashed his blade through Palpatine's second blade and barely grazed his hand.

Palpatine shouted in pain. He then turned on Windu in a fit of rage.

Their battle raged on with renewed intensity.

They crossed their blades together in a saber lock and they both tried to push all of their strength into their swords, hoping to break the stalemate.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside, Anakin landed his fighter at the Senate building's grand entrance hall and jumped out.

"Artoo, stay with the ship," Anakin ordered and ran down a long corridor toward the Chancellor's office. Artoo beeped a reply.

* * *

In the heat of battle, both combatants had gotten out of the saber lock by taking a couple steps back from each other. They both began to step sideways in the opposite direction, circling each other. Mace Windu raised his blade over his head and began to strike. He swung his blade at Palpatine, who parried the blows and moved back as he did. He flipped back and jumped onto a conduit before flipping off of it, still parrying Windu's strikes. Palpatine walk back up the three steps that led to his desk.

As they carried the battle behind Palpatine's desk, they continued to strike at each other. During the fight, Mace cuts the window behind the Chancellor's desk, and it completely shatters. Mace is forced out onto the ledge, which is twenty stories up. They take a couple small steps away from each other, and Mace twirls his lightsaber in his hands as he waits for Palpatine to strike. He does, and they fight over the precipice of the ledge that led down to the streets below.

Mace dashes forward with his blade aiming at Palpatine's neck, but he slides and ducks underneath the purple blade. They continue to circle each other while on the ledge, their purple and crimson swords clashing.

In order to combat Sidious' furious technique, Windu gave himself completely over to Vaapad, a force ability that allowed the wielder to channel his own inner darkness into the duel, and accept the fury of the opponent. He allowed it to fully channel his own inner darkness, as well as accepting and using the darkness of Sidious. When fully immersed in his form, Windu's fighting prowess was such that he could allow his body to fight automatically for him without needing to direct it with his mind.

Vaapad allowed Windu to hold out as long as he did, but he didn't believe that it could help him break the stalemate of the fight. He needed a new plan.

As Mace Windu allowed Vaapad to control the way he fought Palpatine automatically, he put a great deal of his mind into concentrating on a force ability called shatterpoint. Shatterpoints were akin to fault lines, similar to different pathways of actions. Adept Force users were able to perceive these faults through the Force, and influence them. Basically, Mace Windu was able to view the person in front of as a shattered window, and he was able to analyze each little piece and look for any weaknesses in Darth Sidious.

Question was, what was Palpatine's weakness?

That's when Master Windu, as he continued fighting Palpatine, he sensed a familiar presence approaching them.

It was Anakin Skywalker, who was approaching the office surrounded by an overwhelming sense of fear.

This was the tipping point. Mace Windu deduced that Skywalker was Sidious' shatterpoint. As the Jedi realized the depth of the Sith Lord's trust in Skywalker, Sidious let out a snarl as he lunged forward with his blade and tried to knock Windu over the ledge.

Big mistake.

Windu delivered a well-placed kick to Sidious' face, which caused him to drop his saber into the streets below.

As Mace gains the upper hand and forces Palpatine to drop his sword. Windu pointed his blade at the fallen, fear-stricken chancellor, who scooted back to the other side of the window, trying to get away from the purple blade that was in his face.

Anakin rushed around a corner, and walked into the room to see Windu with his blade pointed Palpatine's face. He walked up to them.

"You are under arrest, My Lord," Mace said mockingly. He glanced over to see Anakin walking up to them. He put his hands up, motioning for Anakin to stop, while still pointing his blade at Palpatine.

"Anakin! I told you it would come to this. I was right. The Jedi are taking over," Palpatine said in between heavy breaths. Anakin didn't say anything. He just watched the scene in front of him with a blank stare.

"You old fool. The oppression of the Sith will never return. Your plot to regain control of the Galaxy is over . . . you have lost . . ." Mace said, his blade still pointed at Palpatine.

The Dark Lord shook his head. "No! No! You will die!" Palpatine hissed out as he shot lightning out of his fingertips at Mace, who used his blade to absorb the lightning.

Palpatine stood up on one knee, still shooting out lightning.

"He is a traitor, Anakin," Palpatine shouted.

"He's the traitor. Aarrrrggghhhh, Stop him!" Windu said, struggling to hold his ground.

"Come to your senses, boy. The Jedi are in revolt. They will betray you, just as they betrayed me," Palpatine begged. "You are not one of them, Anakin. Don't let him kill me. I am your pathway to power. I have the power to save the one you love. You must choose. You must stop him".

"Don't listen to him, Anakin, Aarrrggghhhh!" Mace shouted out to Anakinover the sound of the crackling lightning that was being used on him.

"Help me! Don't let him kill me. I can't hold on any longer," Palpatine said.

Mace summoned a force push through his arms while still holding his blade. He sent it back towards Palpatine, pushing him onto his back. As the Jedi moves closer, the bolts from Palpatine's hands begin to deflect from Mace's sword and back on him. His face began to become wrinkled and deformed. He went from a 70 year old man to a 200 year old man instantaneously.

Anakin shielded his eyes from the intense light.

Palpatine screamed in pain. He stopped shooting his lightning, in order to save himself from his own powers.

"I can't ... I give up. Help me. I am weak ... I am too weak. Don't kill me. I give up. I'm dying. I can't hold on any longer," Palpatine begged.

Mace raised his blade. "You Sith disease. I am going to end this once and for all," he threatened.

"You can't." Someone said. Mace looked to his right to see that the speaker was Anakin. "You can't kill him, Master. He must stand trial," Anakin said, catching Mace off guard for a split second.

"He has too much control of the Senate and the Courts. He is too dangerous to be kept alive," Mace explained to the young Jedi, trying to get him to come to his senses.

"I'm too weak. Don't kill me. Please," Palpatine begged.

"It is not the Jedi way..." Anakin protested.

Mace raises his sword to kill the chancellor.

"He must live..." Anakin continued to protest.

"Please don't, please don't . . ." Palpatine begged.

"I need him..." Anakin said at last.

"Please don't..." Palpatine begged, more frantically this time.

"NO!" Anakin shouted as he ignited his blade and started to swing it, aiming for Mace's sword arm.

Mace seemed doomed for a split second, when something else unexpected happened.

Kit Fisto jumped back into the fray after regaining consciousness, blocking Anakin's saber with his own. "Skywalker! What are you doing?" Kit asked in his Jamaican sounding accent, as he crossed blades with his fellow Jedi.

"Stopping the traitors!" Anakin shouted as he began to strike at Kit Fisto.

Mace was caught off guard by Anakin's betrayal, that it nearly distracted him from Palpatine, who fired lightning at Windu. He blocked it just in time, but Palpatine then used the force to throw him across the room. Mace landed near the entrance door. He groaned and rubbed his shaved head to massage the sore on his head.

"AAAhhh!" Kit shouted as he was slammed into the wall by Anakin. "Umpf!" He grunted as he landed next to Windu.

Anakin and Palpatine closed in on the two exhausted Jedi.

"Now Jedi, you will die," Palpatine said, as Anakin stood next to him, saber at the ready.

"Master Windu? I'm not sure about our odds," Kit said with concern as he stood back up and tried to raise his blade.

"Don't worry. Their about to get better," Mace said as he stood up and raised his blade with less difficulty.

This seemed to confuse everyone else that was in the room.

"What are you talking about?" Anakin asked demandingly as he pointed his blade towards the two jedi.

Suddenly, a very intense light flooded the room. Everyone looked outside to see what it was. It was a pair of gunships with powerful flood-lights.

That's when the door to the office hissed open up behind them, and a platoon of Coruscant Clone troopers, led by Commander Thire, rushed into the room. They lined up along the wall in front of the Jedi, and aimed at the Sith Lord and the treasonous Dark Jedi.

Two more squads rappelled from the roof and came through the window, which was already broken.

As the clone surrounded Palpatine and Anakin, they stood back to back.

Kit leaned in towards Windu.

"You called for backup?" He asked.

"How do you beat the most powerful man in the galaxy? Turn his army against him," Mace answered.

"Chancellor Palpatine. You are under arrest for treason, corruption, colluding with the enemy, and for the murder of Two Jedi officers of the Grand Army," Thire said, listing all of Palpatine's known offenses.

"How do they know about all this?" Kit asked under his breath.

Mace Windu raised his holo-projector. "I kept my comlink on. I was recording the entire time and they were watching," Mace said, gesturing to the clones in the room.

Kit's eyes looked like they were about pop out of their sockets. "Well alright then," Kit said before he looked back at the two traitors in the middle of the room.

"Don't you see that the Jedi are traitors? Kill them!" Anakin ordered.

"Skywalker. Why are you doing this?" Mace asked.

"I'm protecting the Republic, and saving the people that I love from you!" Anakin spat out.

Windu started thinking. Ahsoka's trial came to mind. But then he remembered Palpatine saying something about having the power to save someone Anakin loved.

"Anakin, whatever it is that is making you feel this way, we can try to work this out," Kit said, trying to be rational, and reason with Anakin.

"Commander Thire. The Jedi are taking over. You must protect the Republic. Execute Order 66," Palpatine said.

Thire and his men just stood there.

Kit, Mace, and even Anakin were confused as to what he was ordering.

"I'm sorry sir. But we are no longer required to follow your orders," Thire said as he and his men trained their weapons on the former chancellor, and current enemy of the state. "All enemies of the Republic must be eliminated, even you".

Palpatine growled and shot lightning out of his fingertips.

The lightning shot to either side of the room, barbecuing over a dozen clones, who all screamed in pain. Before the lightning could travel to Thire and his men, Mace and Kit jumped in front of the arks of lightning and used their lightsabers to absorb the strikes.

Anakin then turned towards the clones at the window. They all fired on him. He raised his blue lightsaber and expertly blocked the laser bolts coming from the clone troopers. Several troopers fell from their own laser bolts. He then summoned a shockwave that sent the remaining clones out the window. They plummeted to their deaths.

Palpatine and Anakin ran to the window.

The gunships turned to have their sides face the building before they opened their hatches. The troopers inside aimed their weapons at the two traitors that just slaughtered a number of their brothers. Every trooper fired.

Anakin blocked the blasts with his saber. Palpatine, who was keeping the two Jedi and their troopers at bay, turned to jump out the window with Anakin. As their feet left the edge, Anakin used the force to push the troopers out the other side of the gunship crew bays. As the troopers fell to their doom, Palpatine used his powerful force lightning on the gunship's engines.

Their rears exploded and belched smoke before they began to spin out of control and lose altitude.

Anakin and Palpatine were in free-fall as they plummeted to the ground below.

Back in the office, Kit, Windu, and Thire's men, all ran to the window to watch the two traitors plummet straight to the ground at the base of the domed building. All of the clones started firing their blasters at the traitorous pair as they ran away from the building.

On the ground, the blue laser blasts landed all around them. One even grazed Anakin's shoulder.

"Gah!" He exclaimed in pain. "Artoo. Get out of here and wait to here from me!" He said into his com-link before he deflected some of the laser bolts back at the office while he ran away.

The bolts flew back at the office.

"Stang!" One clone exclaimed as he jumped back from a deflected blast that hit the ground below him, like the other troopers.

As the troopers continued to fire on the fleeing traitors, Windu grabbed Thire by the shoulder and pulled him over to speak have a discussion with him and Kit. "We need to spread the word: Palpatine is a criminal and on the run!" Windu ordered.

"Yes Sir!" Thire said as he activated his comm to speak into it.

As Thire walked away to contact Commander Fox and the authorities, Kit asked a question in a hushed tone.

"Master? What will we tell the council about Anakin? And what's this Order 66 that Palpatine was talking about?"

"We'll tell the council about Anakin later. For now, we'll keep it to ourselves," Mace said, not knowing how the order would react if they found out that Anakin Skywalker, the one prophesied to destroy the Sith and bring balance to the force, was corrupted by the Dark Lord of the Sith. "As for Order 66? I don't know".

Kit leaned in closer and looked at Windu. He looked past him at the clones.

"The clones all froze when they were ordered to execute it. They definitely know what it is," Kit whispered.

Windu looked around the room at the clones patrolling the office.

"Agreed," Mace replied. He turned to Thire. "Commander!" Thire turned to face Windu. "Come here".

The trooper nodded and walked over to his Jedi superiors. "Sir. I contacted Commander Fox. He's spreading the word. The Coruscant Guard, and the Home Fleet, are locking down the system as we speak," Thire reported.

"Excellant! But we have a question to ask you," Windu said.

"Of coarse sir, anything," Thire said.

"When you learned that Palpatine and Skywalker were traitors, how did you feel?" Kit asked.

"Stunned beyond belief sir. Palpatine was our commander-in-chief, and Skywalker was a war hero. I wasn't expecting it sir. It's ... surreal," Thire said.

"He told you and your men to execute something called 'Order 66'. Do you know what that is?" Windu asked.

Thire paused for a few silent seconds, that each felt like an eternity. He took his helmet off to look his superiors in the eye. "Sir. I honestly have never heard of Order 66 before today. But for some reason, I felt a strange urge come over me. But since the order was coming from a traitor, I had to ignore it," Thire explained.

"What was the urge?" Kit asked.

Thire paused again. Longer this time.

"Commander!" Windu pressed.

"To kill you," Thire said.

"WHAT!?" Kit and Mace exclaimed at the same time.

"The urge was telling me to kill you. The chancellor was ordering me and my men ... to kill you," Thire said, choking on a few of his words.

Kit and Mace looked at each other. Their horror stricken faces said it all.

"We need to spread the word. We need to warn everyone that Palpatine is a traitor. His orders must be ignored at all costs," Mace said.

"Yes Sir," Thire said.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _The Works, Palpatine's secret hideout_.

Anakin and Palpatine made it to a secret hide out meant for the Chancellor.

It was guarded by several guards wearing red-cloaks and armed with laser staffs. The silent guards stood by, ready to fight to the death for their chancellor.

Both traitors were in a secret room. Anakin collapsed onto his knees as he entered. He was in deep despair.

"What have I done?" The young force wielder said, having just killed several troopers.

Palpatine walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You are fulfilling your destiny, Anakin. Become my apprentice. Learn to use the dark side of the Force," Sidious said.

"I will do whatever you ask," Anakin said, almost on the verge of tears.

"Good," The Dark Lord of the Sith said.

"Just help me save Padme's life. I can't live without her. I won't let her die. I want the power to stop death," Anakin begged.

"To cheat death is a power only one has achieved..." Sidious said, referring to Plagieus. "...But if we work together, I know we can discover the secret".

Anakin turned around to kneel before Sidious. "I pledge myself to your teachings. To the ways of the Sith," Anakin said as he bowed before his new master.

"Good. Good. The Force is strong with you. A powerful Sith you will become. Henceforth, you shall be known as Darth . . . Vader," Sidious said, anointing the young dark sider.

"Thank you. my Master," Vader said.

"Rise, Darth Vader!"

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Kashyyyk_.

Repeublic forces and their Wookie allies continued to hold off the tide of Droid forces crossing the lake to attack Kashirro. Wookie cadamarans and other flying viechles swooped over the Republic tanks that continued to hold the beachhead.

But high above the raging battle, Yoda felt a hand over his heart. He leaned against something.

There was a great disturbance in the force.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Mandalore, Royal Palace_.

The remaining few anti-ship cannons must've been knocked out for good, because Autem's ships were quickly gaining the upper hand. Maul's fleet was losing ground, and ships. As the Republic warships blasted away at the shadow collective ships, explosions blossomed along their hulls, with debris falling from the sky.

Appo and Kryze's troops made it onto the roof. When they ran up the stairs, missile and blaster fire suddenly came out of nowhere and demolished several allied troopers.

"Take cover!" Appo shouted.

Everyone ran for cover. The firepower coming from the guard towers on the roof wasn't showing any signs of letting up.

"We've got to get break through. Me and my warriors will draw their fire," Kryze said as she took a running start and rocketed up into the air with her men. They flew around, dogfighting with Maul's super commandoes. It was working. Yellow laser bolts and missiles started shifting towards Kryze and her warriors.

"Let's move!" Appo said as he moved out of cover to advance on the enemy emplacements.

His troopers followed him.

"Alright grunts, time to earn your pay," Sgt. Boomer shouted as his team blasted away at the enemy troopers as well. They were followed by Sgt. Kano's team.

One clone with a rotary cannon kept Maul's troopers pinned down. "For The Republic!" He shouted.

Several clone sharpshooters hung back to provide sniper support. They picked off several Shadow Collective grenadiers and gunners, that were giving their brothers a hard time. Despite their best efforts, the enemy was still too well dug in. Appo's men were pinned down, and Kryze's Night Owls were being swatted like flies.

A miracle was needed. Lucky for the allied forces, it came.

A hail of Republic artillery fire rained down from several different locations, and hammered the rooftop. Any structure that rained fire on allied forces was wiped out or pounded into slag. After a few salvos, the bombardment subsided. The clones moved along the roof to see the bodies of their enemy littering the rooftop. While they scanned the rooftop for any signs of hostile contacts, Appo held his finger up to a button on his helmet comm.

"This is Lt. Appo. The rooftop is secured," he said.

Suddenly, a lightsaber began to spin out of no where and cut through several clone troopers. "Not Clear! Not Clear!" Appo said as he and his men ducked underneath the spinning blade. It curved back and was caught by Darth Maul, who came sprinting across the roof, cutting down anyone clone that got in his way.

Soon, Ahsoka came sprinting after him, with Jesse's men bringing up the rear.

"Stop Him!" Ahsoka ordered.

As if on cue, Kryze's men used their flame vambraces to put up a wall of fire between him and his escape path. Maul was forced to stop. Ahsoka came charging in after him, sabers at the ready. Maul turned to face her. The two of them dueled viciously. The dark lord pushed her back into the wall of fire that Kryze's men put up.

But she had other ideas. With their sabers still crossed, Ahsoka flipped over him and used the force to summon a shockwave that she blasted him with. The force of the blast sent him flying through the wall of fire.

There must've been some unexploded ordnance there, because an explosion went off in the fire wall just as Maul flew through it. He came out the other side and hit a wall. Darth Maul had several burns and cuts all over his body.

Ahsoka jumped through the firewall with a battle cry, her arms crossed over each other, ready to decapitate the fallen sith with her extended blades.

But just as she was on top of him, a horrible pain rushed through her body. A vision bashed its way into her mind. It was her master. He was in danger. "NO!" She shouted as her eyes welled up. She lost her concentration and crashed into the wall above Maul. Her blades deactivated and clattered to the ground.

Ahsoka landed on the ground, in front of Maul. She held her head as she screamed in agony.

"Commander!" Jesse shouted as he and the others rushed up to try and help her. Maul cracked a demonic smile, taking this opportunity to use the force to lift up Ahsoka and then throw her into the clones who were coming to her aid.

He then got up and ran away to a landing pad that only he and his followers knew about.

"NO!" Kryze shouted as she, her warriors, and Appo's men fired on a retreating Maul.

He jumped into his black and red painted Fang Fighter and flew away from the battle.

Away from justice.

Kryze, who was seething with anger, speed walked back over to Ahsoka. Jesse was kneeled down next to her, and surrounded by several clones.

"What happened?" Kryze demanded.

"I...I don't..." Ahsoka started to say, choking up a bit.

"You had him. You had him! But you fell apart! Maul got away because of you!" Kryze accused.

The clones that were gathered around Ahsoka got up, turned around, and stood between her and Ahsoka. "Back off Kryze!" One of them said as he and several others stared daggers at her.

Bo-Katan looked around.

The clones were all looking at her. The ones with helmets off looked pissed at her. She then looked back at Ahsoka. The young togrutan was trembling uncontrollably. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

Kryze was speechless.

"Commander? What happened?" Jesse asked as gently as possible. This was one of the reasons that this Legion called themselves _'Ahsoka's Loyalists'_.

"I-I Sense something. A tremor in the force, like someone's in trouble. It's...*sniff*...It's Anakin. Something happened to him. Something bad," Ahsoka said.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Utapau, Pau City_.

Back on Utapau, the battle for Pau City was still raging hard. In the sinkhole that the city was situated in, more Republic Gunships, and even natives flying winged creatures, flew into the sinkhole and descended.

Thousands of puffs of red glowing flak filled the skies.

The gunships flew around, providing fire support for the troopers on the ground, who were landing on the landing platforms before spreading out into the streets, fighting back the Confederate droid army block by block.

Wounded troops were being carried back to the landing platforms, which were still under heavy fire from the droid army.

On one landing platform, a platoon of clones were pinned down. They were holding off more droids, which were still advancing out of the buildings within the sinkhole walls.

"Medic! I need a medic over here!" One clone paratrooper called out, as he kneeled over one of his wounded brothers. "Hurry!" He called out. Around, several more troopers were gunned down. But they were soon replenished by several gunship that landed three platoons worth of additional clone troopers. An AT-TE was landed and began to march forward.

The troopers of the 212th moved to push deeper into the sinkhole city. That's where the fighting became much more intense. The droids continued to pour out of the buildings, including crab droids. These heavily armored droids scurried across the ground and tried to overrun the clones and push them back off of the landing pad. The Clones continued to hold their ground and fire back, but their rounds were only absorbed or deflected by the crab droid's armored legs. But then clone ran around a crab droid's blind side and climbed onto it's back. Then he aimed down and introduced the droid's face to a hail of blue plasma fire.

His brothers picked up something from him and targeted the crab droid's faces. With this new tactic in mind, the clones redoubled their efforts, and began to push back.

* * *

In the streets of Pau city, Obi-Wan began to ride his lizard, Boga, through the embattled streets.

Fires raged on some of the street corners and buildings. Republic walkers, speeders, and infantry continued to advance up the street, while taking fire from battle droids that were on the balconies above them.

Obi-Wan saw that one battle droid was trying to fire on him, raining down red plasma all around his lizard and passed his face. He ignited his saber and deflected one round back at the distant droid's face, before he sparked and collapsed to the ground.

A little later, he came up on a command station, where Obi-Wan's fight with Grievous began earlier. His lizard skidded to a halt right next to Cody and the clone officers that were around the holo-table.

He jumped down next to Cody, who walked up to him.

"Commander, I want you contact your troopers. Tell them to start moving to the higher levels," Obi-Wan said.

"Yes Sir," Cody said.

Obi-Wan suddenly felt faint. There was a great disturbance in the force. He held his face and winced a little. Cody turned and noticed his general wincing. "General. Are you okay?" Cody asked with concern.

"I...I don't know. I sense something. A tremor in the force. I can't tell what it is," Obi-Wan said.

That's when a comms officer rushed in.

"Sirs. I have an urgent transmission from Coruscant!"

Cody and Obi-Wan looked at each other.

Obi-Wan turned his head to the comms officer.

"Patch it through."

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant. The Works. Sidious' hideout_.

"We have failed to destroy the Jedi. They know of my identity. And with the Grand Army on their side, they are too strong. We will need more time if we are going to defeat them, and re-claim the galaxy," Darth Sidious said, pulling a hood over his head, obscuring his deformed face.

"What will we do?" Darth Vader asked.

"We must spread the word quickly. No doubt the Jedi will be moving to take control of the Republic as we speak." Darth Sidious said.

"I agree. The Council's first move will be against the Senate," Darth Vader said.

"We must spread the word of the Jedi coup. The Senate...The galaxy must know of what the Jedi have done. We will remain hidden, and as soon as we can, I will continue to be a voice for the people," Sidious said.

"Very well master," Anakin said with a bow.

"Remember: Every...single...Jedi, including your friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi, is now an enemy of democracy. And their clones have been enslaved by the Jedi. Do what must be done Lord Vader. When you come across any Jedi or the clones, do not hesitate. Show no mercy," Sidious ordered.

"As you wish my master," Anakin bowed again.

Sidious smiled.

 _'It was time to rally the resistance'._

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Message to all Jedi and Clone Commanders across the galaxy_.

 _To: All Jedi Generals and their Clone forces._

 _From: The Jedi Council._

 _Subject: Chancellor Sheev Palpatine._

 _To all of our fellow Jedi and our brave clone comrades at home and abroad. It is with a heavy heart, that I inform you of the treachery of Chancellor Palpatine._ _Palpatine has been revealed to be a Dark Lord of the Sith in disguise, known as Darth Sidious. We have only just managed to discover his plot to turn the Clone Army against their Jedi leaders with something called 'Order 66'. With this order, he would take control of the Republic Senate, and the Galaxy. If you receive any message from Palpatine, ignore it. Palpatine is a wanted fugitive and enemy of the state. Again, if you receive an order from Palpatine, ignore it. He wants control of the Republic and is not to be trusted._

 _Control of the Government will fall to the Jedi Council and the military to ensure the smooth transfer of power over to the next Chancellor._

 _If you are a member of the Jedi Council, who is not on Coruscant, contact the Temple immediately for an emergency meeting with the rest of the Council._

 _Message ends._

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **That's part 23 folks.**

 **Shit just got real. Hope you enjoyed.**

 **This is Grubkiller, over and out.**


	24. Chapter 24-How Stability Dies

**Have no fear, Grubkiller is here.**

 **Hey folks.**

 **Here's part 24 of 'Fall of the Republic'.**

 **Hope you enjoy, review, and fav/follow.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant, Republica 500, Padme's apartment_.

Padme stood before the window of her living room, watching the sudden increase in police and Military activity. Gunships and police speeders flew by periodically with searchlights beaming down on the streets below. Republic Warships from the Home Fleet hovered above the city. Clone Trooper squadrons patrolled the streets, checking every alley, storm drain, and trash-can they came across.

Padme then heard the robotic whine of servos and then turned to see C-3PO entering from the bedroom. "My Lady, there's a Jedi fighter docking on the veranda," he informed.

She turned around and rushed to the large family room to see a green Jedi Star-fighter docked where 3PO said it was. The cockpit opened with a compressed squeak, and she saw her husband step out of the open cockpit.

C-3PO walked out to Anakin's ship and talks with Artoo, who beeps out loud. "Hush! Not so loud!" 3PO scolded.

Padme rushed onto the veranda as Anakin exited his ship. The two of them embraced before Padme cupped Anakin's face and pulled it in for a kiss.

"Are you all right Ani? What's going on? Why is there so much police activity? Did something happen?" Padme asked, somewhat frantically.

"I'm fine. I'm fine. I came to see if you and the baby are safe," Anakin said, as he continued to hold his fidgeting wife in his arms.

"Captain Typho's here, we're safe. What's happening?" Padme asked as she cupped his cheeks.

As Anakin and his wife speak, C-3PO continues to talk to R2-D2 on the ship. "What is going on?" Threepio asked. Artoo beeps a reply. "You can't be anymore confused than I am," Threepio replied.

"The situation is not good," Anakin started to explain. "The Jedi have just staged a coup. The Chancellor's been overthrown and they control the government."

Padme was caught off guard. She shook her head and her lips struggled to form words. There were a million words coursing through her brain, so she could only settle with saying four. "I can't believe that!" Padme softly exclaimed.

"I couldn't either at first, but it's true. I saw Master Windu attempt to assassinate the Chancellor myself. But I managed to rescue Palpatine and escape custody," Anakin explained.

C-3PO leans over and whispers to Artoo. "Something important is going on! I heard a rumor they are going to banish all droids," he said. Artoo beeps rather loudly. C-3PO puts his fingers to his lips. "Shhhhhh . . . not so loud," he said. Artoo beeps quietly. "Whatever it is, we'll be the last to know," he said.

"Wait. You're a fugitive now?!" Padme asked, tears welling up in her eyes. "Anakin, what are you going to do?"

Anakin looks down at his feet for a moment and then walks away from Padme. "I will not betray the Republic..." He finally said before he turned around to face her. "...my loyalties lie with the Chancellor and with the Senate," he said before he walked back over to her. "...and with you."

Padme started to think about all of Anakin's friends in the Jedi Order. "What about Obi-Wan ... and Ahsoka," she asked.

"I don't know," Anakin said. "Many Jedi are already following along with the coup, and they've brainwashed much of the Clone Army to bring them onto their side. We can only hope that they've remained loyal to the Chancellor," he said.

"How could this have happened?" She asked, completely dumbfounded by everything she's just heard.

"The Republic is unstable, Padme. The Jedi aren't the only ones trying to take advantage of the situation. There are also traitors in the Senate that might support them," Anakin said.

Padme just stands and reacts ever so slightly, trying not to look suspicious in front of her fugitive of a husband. "What are you saying?" She asked.

"You need to distance yourself from your friends in the Senate. The Chancellor said they will be dealt with when this conflict is over," Anakin told her.

 _'Dealt with?'_ She thought to herself, unsettled.

"What if they start an inquisition? What if the Clones start investigating people. I've opposed this war. What will you do if I become a suspect?" She asked, somewhat terrified. "What if there's another civil war because of all this?"

"That won't happen. I won't let it," he assured her.

"Oh, Anakin, I'm afraid," she said.

Anakin placed both of his hands on either side of her head. He looked her in the eye to be more reassuring. "Have faith, my love. Everything will soon be set right," he said as he stroked her cheeks. "The Chancellor has given me a very important mission while he stays here to spread the truth of what's happened. The Separatists leaders have gathered in the Mustafar system. I'm going there to end this war, and prove that we're on the right side of history. Wait for me until I return..." he told her. Padme nodded her head obediently. "...things will be different, I promise," he said.

They shared a loving kiss. After a few minutes, they broke apart.

"Please, wait for me," he asked, still holding her chin before he walked away.

"I will," she said.

Anakin gets into his Fighter as Threepio backs away.

Artoo beeps again.

"Well, he is under a lot of stress, Artoo," he said to his counterpart.

Artoo beeps again.

"Take care, my little friend," Threepio said.

Artoo beeps a good-bye, and the fighter takes off. Padme is left alone on the veranda. She starts to cry. Threepio comes up to her.

"My Lady, is there anything I might do?" He asked, wanting to be a faithful servant.

"No thank you, Threepio," she said as she wiped away her tears.

"Could I get you a snack, perhaps?" He asked again.

"No," she said.

Threepio starts to move off and he sighed.

"Oh, I feel so helpless".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Jedi Council chamber_.

The situation was dire.

Master Windu stood in the council chamber to watch over the massive police state that was forming outside the window. The Home fleet was on full alert, and the Police and Military were searching everywhere and questioning everyone.

Their mission: Find Palpatine at all costs.

Behind Windu was the entire Jedi Council and their clone commanders.

Everyone was present. Except some councilors (Obi-Wan, Yoda, Plo Koon, and Ki-Adi Mundi) were attending via hologram.

There was also someone else here.

The holographic version of the new Chancellor, Tomas Dalyell.

Normally, the Vice-Chair of the Senate, Mas Amedda, would take the reigns of power until a new Chancellor was appointed. But since Dalyell was supposed to be Palpatine's opponent for the election that had literally been scheduled for tomorrow, and was now without an opponent, he was the winner by default. So now he was the Supreme Chancellor of a Republic that his planet only joined less than two years ago, and presided over a senate that had negative to mixed feelings on him.

Dalyell was hated by the more authoritarian Palpatine loyalists in the senate, who made up over half of the senate. On the other hand, the anti-war opposition had mixed feelings with him, because he was more of a hawk when it came to the Clone Wars, but opposed Palpatine's executive overreach. It was going to be interesting to see how he handled being Chancellor with most of the Senate against him.

"What do you suggest that we do Master?" Windu asked Yoda.

He stroked his chin. " _Mmmmm. Destroy the sith...we...must. On my way back I am. Look for Palpatine I will,_ " Yoda said.

" _Do you want a Clone strike force ready for you_?" Dalyell asked.

" _Yes. But keep them on standby for now you will. For now, go alone I must. Easier to find him it will be,"_ Yoda explained.

Dalyell bowed to the Jedi. Unlike Palpatine, Dalyell was ready, willing, and able to work with the Jedi and give up the emergency powers, or at least roll them back slightly until the war was over. But they agreed that he should keep them until the situation with Palpatine dies down.

"Will all of the clone commanders let the Council convene alone for a private meeting?" Windu asked, dismissing the commanders. "Inform your troopers about Palpatine and continue with your operations".

When all of the clone commanders were out of ear shot, the meeting continued.

" _Then what do we do about Skywalker?_ " Mundi asked.

Windu didn't mention anything about Skywalker in the communique concerning Palpatine. He sent a private message to all of the Council members. He didn't want word of Anakin spreading without the council's prior knowledge.

"We need to find him. He may know where Sidious is, and what he plans to do next," Shaak Ti said.

"Who should handle that?" Kit asked. That's when everyone in the room, holographic or present, looked in the direction Obi-Wan's figure almost in perfect unison.

He was deep in thought. "It can't be. It can't be," he was saying under his breath.

"Master Kenobi. We have a new assignment for you," Windu said.

Obi-Wan looked up and noticed that everyone in the room was looking at him.

" _Master, please. If you want me to go after Anakin, Then I will do it, but only if you give me the option to capture him. I won't kill him,_ " Kenobi said.

"We're not asking you too Obi-Wan," Windu said. "We need you to find Skywalker and bring him in alive if possible. Cody can stay on Utapau to mop up the droid forces, while you start tracking down Skywalker. Just remember: He's been corrupted by the Dark Side, and is working for the Sith. He may be far from redeemable. You may have to do what's necessary to bring Anakin to justice".

Obi-Wan froze for a second. Then he bowed. " _Yes Master. I ... I know just where to look,_ " Obi-Wan said.

"A _lright, remember everyone,_ " Dalyell started. ". _..Palpatine is a dangerous man who's just declared a one-man war against the Republic. And under no circumstances are we to allow this traitor to escape Republic space. So in the name of those who've sffered because of him, we will run this bastard down. I want you to maintain the blockade and do everything you can to run that bastard down. As for the rest of you, remember that we're still at war. Tell your troopers to reject any orders from Palpatine and continue fighting the CIS,_ " Dalyell said. " _In the meantime, I need to address the Senate. Godspeed, Master Jedi,"_ Dalyell finished before his hologram disappeared.

The rest of the holograms started to disappear and everyone else went to work, ready to conduct the greatest manhunt in the history of the galaxy.

These were uncertain times for the Republic.

 **xxxx** **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Senate Building_.

Bail Organa walked through the senate building.

He was on his way to the massive chamber where all of the senators met to convene with the Chancellor.

Only, instead of Palpatine, everyone in the Senate was surprised to hear that he has been replaced by someone that most people in the senate loathed.

It was Tomas Dalyell. He was the former Chairman of the COG, from the planet Sera, and was its senator before this.

When Sera joined the Republic, reluctantly, men like Dalyell voiced their beliefs that the Republic's regulatory system unfairly plagued people in the outer rim, who were just trying to make an honest living for themselves. They also argued that this type of system drove the CIS to secession in the first place. This got him a storm of accusations. Palpatine's party, the ' _Centralists'_ (who believe in a more centralized government), have accused him of being a Separatist sympathizer and a terrorist.

Then Palpatine sent the Republic Navy to halt and vet shipping in the region, and set up a base in the system. The COG was alright with a small base in the system, to deter Separatist forces that were already in the system. They were even okay with a small. But they felt that since they didn't have a say in the matter, it felt like a violation of their sovereignty. This was common in places close to Separatist controlled space. The Republic scrutinized people within the border, but not over it. He wanted to give planets in the Republic more autonomy, as did the ' _Populist_ ' party that supported him.

Dalyell argued, at the debate with Palpatine, that the Republic should be more focused on people who come in, rather than people who were already living in Republic space. While Palpatine felt that it was necessary to maintain security, which led people to calling Dalyell an anarchist (even though he was from Sera, which was about as anti-anarchy you could get without being dictatorial).

The man from Sera was heavily loathed by his opposition. Now he was their Chancellor and they had to address him as 'Your excellency'.

Organa smiled at the irony. But then his smile disappeared. Dalyell was only Chancellor because his predecessor was removed from power with a coup. Bail felt that the implications were somewhat unsettling, despite his beliefs about Palpatine.

He walked into a pod belonging to the Naboo delegation. Bail sat next to Padme Amidala.

"What's going on?" Bail asked as he sat down in an empty chair.

"Chancellor Dalyell is addressing the Senate. He's talking about Palpatine and the state of Government," Padme said.

She and Bail reluctantly supported Dalyell, along with the rest of the _Delegation of 2000_. They all believed that Coruscant was corrupt, so it should have less power concentrated there and more spread across the systems that make up the Republic.

But secretly, she had reservations. Other than him being more hawkish than her party, Dalyell was Chancellor by default. And that's because, if what Anakin said was true, the Jedi overthrew him.

They both watched as Dalyell spoke from the towering rotunda at the center of the chamber. He was a man of broad shouldered stature and had a balding head with some white hair. He was a military man because his planet had a culture that was deeply seated in that planet's military.

"Members of the Galactic Congress. When I heard of the news that Palpatine was made an enemy of the state, I was deeply shocked beyond all belief. I entered this office knowing that the weight of the galaxy was on my shoulders. I promise you, that no matter what happens, I am ready, willing, and able to fulfill my duties as Chancellor with all that I am. Palpatine is a traitor that tried to rule over the Galaxy with an iron fist, and we are still fighting a war for the very survival of not just the Republic, but for liberty loving people everywhere. We will make it through this crisis together. We have to if the Republic is to survive," Dalyell said, his voice booming across the massive chamber.

The senators that supported him gave him a standing ovation that lasted three minutes. But they were only about 40% of the Senate. The rest gave him a half-assed clap that lasted about one minute.

Then the questions started being flung at him.

"You are supported by many politicians who voted against building a military for the Republic. Do you plan on cutting the Military budget?" One concerned senator asked.

"This is a legitimate concern. This is something that I disagree with my party on. As a native Seran, our culture is deeply routed in our Military. And the Grand Army has distinguished itself in service to our Republic and has saved billions of lives under the leadership of the Jedi. If not for them, then the Republic wouldn't have survived. So no. I will not agree to any budget cuts until the War is over," he explained.

"How will you end the War? And can you guarantee the return of Emergency powers to the Senate when it ends?" another senator asked.

"To the second part of you question, Certainly. In the few hours that I've been in office, I used my executive authority to nullify several of Palpatine's constitutional amendments, including the ' _Privacy Invasion Act'_ and the ' _Enhanced Security and Enforcement Act_ ', until the Senate hopefully votes to repeal them. But as for the first part of your question, I can't explain that. Our forces are pushing deeper into CIS territory everyday. And their leadership is dead or captured. We will continue what we are doing until they give up. But I don't know how long that will take," Dalyell explained.

He was given another round of applause from his supporters. His opponents on the other hand were silent. One of them, Senator Ask Aak of Malastare, jumped up to ask the next question. "Where is your proof that Palpatine is a traitor?" He asked.

"Well..." Dalyell started to say.

"You were selected, and not elected!" someone jeered.

"The Jedi overthrew the legitamate Chancellor!" another added. "They are the traitors. And you are their puppet!"

"We demand a vote for the next Chancellor," another senator shouted.

Then they started chanting.

"VOTE NOW! VOTE NOW! VOTE NOW!"

"Order! We shall have order!" Mas Amedda shouted.

"The constitution is clear that during an election, if one of the candidates are unable to run, then the other one wins by default," Lux Bonteri trying to defend Dalyell.

"Quiet Separatist filth!" someone said, trying to shout Lux down.

"The fact that a Separatist supports Dalyell makes him a Separatist as well," someone else added, idiotically.

"Bonteri's right. If you don't like it, then you can amend the Constitution, since you loved doing that so much in the past!" A populist senator said, mocking the centralist party's tendency to keep changing the Constitution if it contradicted their agenda, like that pesky two term limit that Palpatine's party got rid of so that he could run again.

Arguments broke out across the chamber.

"Dis bein' very very bad," Jar Jar Binks said to Padme and Bail, who silently agreed.

As Dalyell looked over the madhouse that was the Galactic Senate, his terminal started the chime. He looked at it with interest. He couldn't believe who it was. He looked out and called out to the Senate, with his loud booming voice. "Members of the Senate," Dalyell said. The Senate was calm, barely. He continued. "We are receiving a message from former chancellor ... Sheev Palpatine".

Everyone chattered amongst themselves for a few seconds before they all finally shut up, causing the chamber to become dead quiet for the first time ever while being filled.

A massive hologram appeared. It was taller than the rotunda at the center of the chamber. It was Palpatine, who wore a dark cloak, and a hood over his scarred face.

" _Members of the Senate. I have important information for you_ ," he said.

Everyone in the senate continued to listen. Everything except Palpatine's voice was dead quiet.

"Well this just got interesting," Bail said.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant Holonet Broadcast station_.

Darth Vader stood over a pile of dead bodies. His lightsaber was in one hand, the blue light illuminating the dark room, and the ozone heating up his face. He then deactivated it before he began to transmit his master's message.

When he was done securing the broadcast, he sat and waited.

That's when he heard movement outside the door behind him. He had company.

He made sure that his hood still covered his head, and he summoned his lightsaber with the force. When it flew into his hand, it activated with a snap-hiss. A brilliant blue-white blade sprang into existence. Illuminating the dark room, and humming as he tossed it from hand to hand and brought it to a steady stance.

The door began to glow as the clones on the other side tried to cut their way in. Seconds later, the door exploded inwards and a squad of clone troopers poured into the room. They saw Vader.

"There he is."

"Get him!"

They opened fire.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant. Senatorial chamber_.

Palpatine continued to speak to the senate.

" _The attempt on my life ... has left me scarred ... and deformed, but I assure you, my resolve has never been stronger,"_ Palpatine said.

He got a round of applause from his supporters.

He continued.

 _"The Jedi plot to silence me has failed, but they still control the Republic. The Clone Army has been brainwashed from the beginning to follow the Jedi and go against the will of the people, and they've been plotting with Count Dooku to plunge this galaxy into war and chaos, and rule over what was left. But we won't let them succeed. I am ready to fight restore Democracy to the Galaxy_ , and so should you," Palpatine said, pointing to the senators around him, while lying of coarse.

But true or not, he actually got a round of applause from his former supporters.

"Dammit! That's enough," Dalyell said reaching for his comm device. "Please tell me that you can track that bastard down?" He asked into the device.

" _I'm sorry sir. It's heavily secured. We can't track him,_ " someone said on the other end.

"But what about the broadcast? Can we shut him down?"

" _We're trying sir. But local clone squads are having trouble retaking the broadcast station. They're reporting a lone lightsaber yielding figure that's giving them trouble"_.

Dalyell than realized that it must've been Skywalker.

"Dammit!"

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant Holonet Broadcast station_.

The fallen Jedi Knight spun his lightsaber furiously, batting away the bolts of energy and deflecting them into the walls. His brow was furrowed in concentration as the clones spread out to get better angles of fire on him. He gritted his teeth as he widened his stance, deflecting a pair of bolts back into the torsos of a pair of his assailants.

The two clones collapsed, fingers twitching spasmodically with charred holes in their armor.

 _'They will not keep the truth from getting out'._

Vader sidestepped and decapitated a Clone assassin who was rushing him with his wrist mounted vibro-blades.

It was strange to fight clones that he had fought with for so long. That's what Vader was thinking as he ran another clone through with his lightsaber, before withdrawing it just in time to deflect more shots back at the clones, one bolt hitting a clone square in the faceplate.

none of that mattered, of coarse. The Jedi needed to be stopped, and Padme needed to be saved from his dreams. And if he needed to slash his way through an army of clones and Jedi to do it, then so be it.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant. Senatorial Rotunda_.

Palpatine was still speaking.

" _Members of the Senate, and people of the Galaxy. The Republic is dead. Democracy has been abolished. Our Government, and possibly the Galaxy, is being ruled by those who were supposed to preserve it. That is n longer the case, but we are still here. We can start the fight to reclaim our freedom. Everyone must rise up against this autocracy. The Revolution has begun. Long Live Democracy!_ " Palpatine said, raising his voice for those last three words.

Those who supported him, almost two-thirds of the Senate, gave him a standing ovation.

Then, they all started chanting. "Long live Democracy! Down with the Jedi puppets!" They all began to shout.

Palpatine smiled before his giant hologram flickered out.

As the Senate began to chant for revolution, Dalyell just watched, dumbfounded by the whole thing. "My God. There's no hiding it now!" Dalyell exclaimed under his breath as his Rotunda sank into the floor below, exiting the senate chamber.

Padme, Bail, and their colleagues, all looked on in horror as the chamber openly started to advocate for the destruction of the Jedi, Dalyell, and those loyal to him. She began to tremble and her eyes started to well up a little.

"So this is how it ends..." she said under her breath, as the revolution began.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant Broadcast station_.

After Darth Vader withdrew his blade from the last clone trooper corpse, he deactivated the blade and walked over the body-strewn floor to get outside and contact his master. "Your message has been broadcast without incident, my master." Anakin said.

" _Well done Lord Vader. We have spread the truth about the lies spread by the Jedi deceivers, and their political puppets. With the war in the Outer Rim, and the Revlution growing here, the Jedi's puppet regime will fall and we can lay the groundwork for reforming the Galaxy in the image of our just cause. Together, we shall create an Empire, ruled by the majority, and that will last for ten thousand years_ ," Sidious said.

"And Padme will be apart of it?" Anakin asked.

Sidious smiled.

" _Of coarse my new apprentice_ ," Sidious said, smiling sinisterly. " _I wouldn't have it any other way_ ".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Across Coruscant, people were rioting in the streets. Homes were broken into. Businesses were burned down. It was an orgy of destruction. And it was all in the name of defeating tyranny. Police forces were overrun, their stations set ablaze in the more violent areas. Massive riots popped up everywhere. Protestors were gathering near the Jedi Temple and Senate Building to express their extreme distaste for the current state of the Republic.

Martial law was soon declared.

Clones Troopers armed with stun batons, riot shields, and stun blasters, were marching in the streets with orders to disperse the protesters and put down the riots.

It wasn't just Coruscant. But across many of the other Core Worlds. People there were doing the same thing.

Throughout the war, armies and fleets were sent to the outer rim to fight the separatists. Now they were being sent to planets in Republic space to put down riots orchestrated by their own people.

Speaking of the war, it was still raging. Republic offensives were halted on a count of a lack of reinforcements from the Core Worlds, which were being sent to secure the core and put the revolution down, violently in some places.

With a revolution threatening to tear the Republic apart, and with Hutt Space embroiled in a civil war after the devastation on Nal Hutta, The CIS chose this chaotic moment to launch counterattacks in the Outer Rim against the Republic.

The situation was getting desperate.

Most people believed that this was the end of the Republic. Whether they were right or wrong was unknown. And whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, was entirely a matter of perspective.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Hey folks. There's part 24.**

 **Hope you** **enjoyed. Don't be afraid to leave a review and please stick around for the next part.**

 **Next part preview: Dalyell and the council talk about their next coarse of action, going back to Mandalore with Ahsoka and the gang, and the Jedi begin to track down the Dark Lords.**


	25. Chapter 25-Dropping the Hammer

**Have no fear, Grubkiller is here.**

 **Hey folks, here's part 25 of 'Fall of the Republic'.**

 **Hope you enjoy. Leave a Review when you're done. All of your feedback is appreciated**

 **Disclaimer: A lot of characters in my stories are from other forms of Media that I don't own and are made by people who are better story writers than me.**

 **Warning!** **:** ** _This chapter is packed with lemons. You've been fore-warned. Lemon scenes will be labeled so that you can skip them._**

 **And another thing, I was reading through the Obi-Wan v. Grievous part of this story in chapter 21, and realized that I didn't do very good. So I fleshed out the fight scene a bit more. So please go back and check it out. I added about 300 words to that chapter.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Chancellor's office, Coruscant_.

It was the early morning hours on Coruscant as the sun has only just risen.

Gray overcast clouds hung low, covering the tips of Coruscant's mighty skyscrapers.

Normally, the sky was full of air-speeders carrying people from point A to point B.

Today, however, that was not the case. Martial law was still in effect.

Instead of air-speeders, it was Republic gunships and police sky cars.

Because of this, people weren't going to work, and people who were at work the previous night couldn't come home. The economy literally shut down over night because people weren't getting to work. They were either law abiding citizens who were heeding government warnings, or they were the violent radicals who wanted Palpatine back in power, Dalyell's head on a pike, and Jedi corpses ... including younglings ... piled up in the streets.

Dalyell stood in the chancellor's office. He had only just moved himself in. He brought a few belongings with him. He had a picture of his family on his desk, and another with his oldest son wearing an army uniform. He was a COG Gear in the Coalition Army back on Sera, just like his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather before him.

The desk also had a plaque with a quote on it: ' _I am responsible for myself, and my actions'_. The words on that plaque were part of a quote from Nassar Embry, founder of the COG. Those words perfectly described the type of politician, and man, that Dalyell, and many of his fellow Serans, was. These were the way that all native Serans were expected to live by.

Another picture, a portrait, had COG soldiers braving enemy fire to raise the COG banner during his planet's great civil war, the _Pendulum Wars_ as it was known. Below the painting was the COG Oath of service: " _I shall remain vigilant and unyielding in my pursuit of the enemies of the Coalition. I will defend and maintain the order of life as it was proclaimed by the Allfathers of the Coalition in the Octus Canon. I will forsake the life I had before so I may perform my duty as long as I am needed. Steadfast. I shall hold my place in the machine and acknowledge my place in the Coalition. I am a Gear._ "

He leaned his forearm against the recently replaced window. He then leaned his forehead against his forearm to look out the window. He saw smoke columns from fires all across the city. Some were white, which meant the fires stopped burning. Or they were black, which meant that they were still burning strong. Most of the columns were black.

The fire department, the only people that were still able to do their jobs, were working serious over time. This was the nightshift. The other two shifts were stuck at home because of the martial law.

He could see a massive protest right outside the senate building. There were tens of thousands of them. Clone Troopers were dispersing them with stun blasts, smoke grenades and stun batons. Many in the crowd were stunned and dragged off if they didn't cooperate. Others were beaten within an inch of their life

A holo-screen projector showed Clone Troopers going to break them up. Other screens showed bricks being thrown through windows, fires being started, buildings being broken into, and blasters discharging.

A lot of these rioters were just trying to stir up trouble and could care less about the cause.

But even so, thousands of people have been killed across the planet already, and God knows how many more across the other Core worlds. This revolution was getting out of control quickly, and could quickly break down even further into a civil war.

There were reports of homes and businesses being broken into and looted. It was a bad day to be a small business/home owner, unless they were armed, in which case it was a bad day to be a rioter.

The Hospitals were overflowing with wounded, while Police and Fire stations were burning in some of the more violent areas. The Mob obviously wanted to...quite literally...burn society to the ground.

The Grand Army was being forced to put the very "citizens" it swore to protect in line.

" _God help us all_ ," Dalyell muttered to himself.

"Your excellency...," asked a voice behind him. Dalyell turned to see that it was Bail Organa. "...do you have anything to say sir? Do you wish to propose a new coarse of action?"

The Senator from Alderaan was joined by Mon Mothma, Padme Amidala, Garm Bel Iblis, Chi Eakway, Riyo Chuchi, Lux Bonteri, Fang Zar, Terr Teneel, Giddean Danu, and several other members of the 'Delegation of 2000'.

A few Jedi Council members were also attending, via hologram.

There were also several military leaders in the room, including Admiral Tarkin, Grand Admiral of the Republic Navy, and future Governor of the Outer Rim as decreed by Chancellor Palpatine.

The New Chancellor sat down in his chair, pulled himself towards the desk and propped his head up on the desk with his arms. He was staring off into space, thinking. Everyone in the room stared back at him.

"People. I'm going to be very blunt with you. There is a violent revolution in the streets of Coruscant, and in many cities all across the Core regions of the galaxy. More planets loyal to Palpatine are threatening to secede, and sense we're sending more ships and manpower to put down the revolution, our forces in the outer rim are bogged down with no reinforcements. The Republic is falling apart at the seams, and if we don't solve this problem right now, then we can kiss stability, and quite possibly the Republic, goodbye. I think that we need to start by ending this war," Dalyell said.

"I think that it is time that we finally put the CIS down for good. And when that is done, the destruction of the CIS will force revolutionaries to learn their place," Tarkin said.

Padme shook her head. "Your excellency..." Padme started to say, as if in protest of Tarkin's suggestion.

"Please don't call me that," Dalyell interupted, "It makes me feel very uncomfortable," Dalyell said, thinking it made him sound more like a king than an executive.

Padme nodded before she continued.

"Sir. We must put an end to the violence. I believe that we should call for a peaceful resolution. Both to this conflict, and the revolution," she suggested.

Dalyell looked at her for a moment. Then he closed his eyes and nodded his head.

"Senator Mothma, as much as I'd like for that to happen, I personally believe that the time for talking has ended. The CIS have never agreed to our offers of peace, and they don't want to surrender. They know that we're spread thin, and our home territory is going to 'Hell in a hand basket'. So they'll try to exploit that weakness. We need to show the Separatists our power and resolve. But instead of _crushing_ the revolution," Dalyell said as he looked at Tarkin, subtly scolding him, "we'll show the galaxy our power. And then, hopefully, the CIS will give in, and the mob will stifle itself. And I sure as Hell am not gonna give territory to the CIS," he said, turning to Fang Zar, who once suggested that to the Senate, in hopes of achieving peace.

Everyone was silent.

"Sire. How do you plan to bring the Confederacy to the table?" Lux asked.

"With our latest weapons platform: The Hammer of Dawn. It's a plasma beam weapon that's being used by the Navy, curtesy of the COG's devotion to the Republic," Dalyell said, referring to how the Serans designed it, and helped the Republic build it. "With a couple hundred warships in the Navy already equipped with this weapon, then we could take out the CIS's ability to wage war".

That's when Dalyell's desk started blinking. A message was coming in over his desk-com. He activated it and Clone Marshal Commander Fox's hologram appeared on the desk.

Everyone in the room listened closely.

" _Sir. The mob is arming themselves, and several precincts have been overrun. We can't handle this many arrests_ ," the leader of the Coruscant Guard reported.

"Your taking prisoners?" Dalyell asked, dumbfounded. "The Mob's not taking prisoners, Commander. Tell the Police to stop trying to make arrests. No more arrests until you've Put. The Mob. Down!" Dalyell ordered, emphasizing the last four words and lightly pounding his fist into the table while doing it.

The room fell almost dead silent, as the politicians were shocked at what Dalyell ordered.

Fox was silent too. But he saluted. " _Yes Sir!_ " He said before his hologram fizzled out and disappeared.

Padme was the first one to voice her concerns. "Chancellor. I don't think that using fear and intimidation is the best coarse of action," Padme said, raising her voice slightly.

Dalyell looked at the young Nabooian lady who spoke. He shook his head.

"My lady, I promise you that I didn't like that anymore than you did. But my people back home have a saying: _We only achieve unity through order_. We need to end this war and put the Mob in it's place, whether through peace or force, if we want to save the Republic. But, to show you that I mean well, I will give the CIS one last chance to enter peace talks. But if they refuse, I'm done with them," he then turned to Tarkin. "Admiral, I want you to co-ordinate with the Navy. Be ready to deploy the Fleet against anything valuable the CIS. I want the rest of you to put together a delegation that will go and negotiate with the Confederacy. I'm going to make a call to Raxus. I'll arrange for a meeting on neutral ground where we can negotiate a peaceful settlement".

Padme breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you Chancellor," she said softly. Dalyell may have had a heavy-handed approach to dealing with revolutions, but at least he was willing to play ball, by extending a hand to the Separatists, and rolling back Palpatine's executive expansion.

"Where will the meeting be?" Organa asked.

"If they reject our proposal, and we have to force them to surrender, then we'll just go to Raxus and force an unconditional surrender," Dalyell said. "But if we can get a negotiated settlement, then perhaps a neutral system. Perhaps somewhere in the Mandalore system, that hasn't been bombed yet".

That got Lux's attention. His girlfriend was still on Mandalore. Perhaps he could give her a surprise.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Mandalore, Sun'dari, Republic aid station near the Royal Palace, 16 hours after the siege lifts, 10 hours after the Coruscant Revolution began_.

The Battle of Sun'dari was over, and so was the Siege of Mandalore ... for the most part.

There were small pockets of Shadow Collective resistance that were being cleared out all over the planet, but they were nothing that the Coalition couldn't handle.

Mandalore was free. But at a steep price.

Many of the Night Owls and their allies suffered dearly. So did Ahsoka's forces. The _Sovereign_ and her sister ships suffered heavy damage, and the support vessels weren't fairing much better.

The Star-pilots were deeply exhausted, after flying constant missions day and night for three days. And the Infantry, Navel Personnel, and fight pilots suffered many casualties.

It was, however, no where near as devastating a loss as it was from Maul's reign of destruction across the Planet. Several of the major cities were destroyed, their radioactive remains still burning in the distance, causing an ominous glow in the night sky. But Maul was on the run, and his regime was toppled. And the majority of the cities survived.

Now it was time to rebuild.

Not just rebuild the infrastructure, but the lives.

That included the injured troopers from Ahsoka's forces. One of those troopers was an old friend. And sort of a mentor to Ahsoka in some ways. It was CT-7567, commander of the 501st, second-in-command to General Skywalker.

It was Captain Rex.

Ahsoka and Coric were visiting the wounded when they found Rex.

Coric was a veteran clone sergeant. He was one of the six (seven if you count Rex) original members of Torrent Company, who Ahsoka fought alongside since the Battle of Teth. He had short black hair and a scar over his left eye, much like Anakin's right eye. He had a sense of humor and a loyal friendship to Anakin, Rex, and Ahsoka.

The two of them stood over the injured Captain. Kix had placed bacta patches over each of the blaster wounds that were left by Gar Saxon, Maul's top field commander, who was still leading the remnants of Death Watch against the Allied occupation.

Rex stirred in his sleep every so often.

It made Ahsoka uneasy. Was he giving his last breath? Was he reacting to Kix checking his vitals every ten minutes? Was he about to wake up? Was he having a bad dream? Did it matter?

"I could've stopped this," Ahsoka said suddenly.

"What?" Coric asked.

"I could've been more careful. I could've been more alert. Then Saxon wouldn't have done this. And if I had stopped Maul, then ... at least I could've ... avenged Rex," Ahsoka said.

Coric placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Ma'am. You can't beat yourself up about it. You did your best. We all did. You need to keep it together, 'cuz with the General gone..." Coric started to say.

Ahsoka turned back swiftly and looked back up at him, with tears starting to well up in her eyes.

They all found out what happened to General Skywalker. The Council had told them that Anakin was killed while uncovering Palpatine's plot to take over the galaxy. He was going to be buried as a hero to the Republic, and to the Jedi Order.

 **(A/N: I'm sure you all undestand the dramatic Irony of this scenario. In this story, the Council lies about what happened to Anakin. They want to preserve his legacy as the chosen one who helped destroy the sith. Imagine what some Jedi would believe if they found out what Anakin really did)**.

The news about Anakin had devastated Ahsoka. She hadn't left her room since yesterday when she fell apart in the middle with her fight with Maul. The clones had worked hard to coax her out of her room.

Coric needed to fix this conversation, and fast.

"Gawh. Look, we need you to be strong right now. You need to step up to the plate. We're all going to get through this together as a regiment. As a family," Coric said, emphasizing the last three words.

Ahsoka sniffed, wiped away her tears, and smiled.

"Thanks Coric," she said.

"Why don't you get on out of here. I'll watch over the captain," he said.

She nodded and walked out of the tent.

Rex stirred in his sleep again.

But with his breathing mask on, no one could tell that he was smiling.

* * *

Bo-Katan Kryze watched as citizens started returning to the city.

This was the first time in months that many of these people could return to the city. But they were, unfortunately, forced to com home to rubble out in the streets. Many of these people were rarely able to return to their own homes, often finding out that their home was gone.

But nonetheless, Mandalorians were very good at bouncing back from disasters such as this.

They will rebuild.

Many people walked passed Kryze. A lot of them stopped when they recognized her, and stopped to shake hands with the 'Warrior Duchess', and sister of the late Satine.

But she wasn't really there to look for someone. She had to be sure.

"Mother?" She heard someone call out.

She turned her head swiftly to see a red-head boy in his late teens running in her direction. It was her son, Korkie Kryze. She ran in his direction, and they met in the middle. They dropped to their knees and threw their arms around each other. Korkie buried his tear covered face into his mother's shoulders, after not seeing her for several years. Some people clapped wen they saw them hugging. It was a sign of hope that Mandalore could be rebuilt, as well as the families and lives that were broken.

After several minutes, they let go of one another.

"Look at you, all grown up," she said in disbelief.

Korkie smiled. "You did it mother. You saved Mandalore. Aunt Satine would be so proud".

She smiled. "Yes, she would". She looked passed her son to see several of his friends looking at them. One of them was a pretty blond girl with blue eyes and light skin. Kryze smiled. "Are you going to introduce me to your friends?"

Korkie blushed and reluctantly led his mother over to his friends from the academy, who were also in the resistance. One of them was his girlfriend, Lagos.

It was going to be a _long_ reunion.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Mandalore, Republic diplomatic transport, en route to Sun'dari_.

A Consular class frigate, with several V-Wings escorting it, was about to land in Sun'dari. What was left of it anyway.

It was carrying the people who were going to potentially negotiate with the CIS. In preparation for this possible dialogue, the Republic occupation force was going to be confined to Mandalore's orbit, while the negotiations would take place on Concordia.

Lux Bonteri, who was with several other senators, including Riyo Chuchi, Mon Mothma, Fang Zar, Terr Teneel, and Giddean Danu, looked out a window.

Smoke columns still towered over their points of origin in the distance. After they passed through the domed exterior of Sun'dari, they could see that rubble and debris had littered the streets of the once proud city.

"This place has seen better days," Riyo said.

"Ahsoka was right: the fighting here must've been brutal," Lux said.

"Hmm. The People of Mandalore are resilient. Now that the fighting is mostly done with, they can start rebuilding what was lost," Mon Mothma said.

The two younger Senators nodded in agreement before they looked back down at the city below.

Construction crews and volunteers were helping clear up the city. Soldiers guarded every point of interest. The consular ship swooped over the city. It touched down on a landing pad on top of the Royal Palace. The fighters all landed around the ship.

The Senators all embarked from the ship.

An armored figure with red hair and a petite form walked over to the parked ship. "Welcome to Mandalore. We're honored to welcome the esteemed representatives of the Republic," Bo-Katan Kryze, provisional leader of Mandalore, said.

"It is a pleasure to be here," Mon Mothma said as she gave a slight bow of respect before she extended his hand to Bo, which she took.

Bo-Katan looked past everyone at Lux. They looked at each other. It wasn't exactly friendly. "You again. Hm. I haven't seen you since you and your girlfriend burned our camp to the ground," she said.

"What's she talking about?" Riyo asked as the other senators looked at Lux with interest.

"Long story," Lux said.

"Well I suppose, since your girlfriend helped take back our world, we can let by-gones be by-gones," Bo-Katan said.

Lux gave her a light scowl. "I'll be sure to pass that along," he said.

"Very good. I'll have someone show you to your quarters," Bo said. She clapped her hands together, and a palace worker came running. Bo then walked back towards the Palace.

As they walked through the palace, they could see scorch marks, blasted open walls, and floor craters.

"Is this place stable?" One of the senators, Fang Zar asked.

"Don't worry. Everything is relatively intact. So we should be good," the worker said.

They passed by several clones occasionally. They were mourning.

"A toast, to fallen comrades," one said as he raised a glass.

"Here here!" They all said.

That's when Lux saw a familiar togrutan figure conversing with some of the mourning clones, including one who had bacta patches and a hover chair (Rex).

Ahsoka was wearing her post-Jedi outfit. Lux noticed that this new outfit was more conservative than her usual clothing. For this new suit, she wore a skirt, that had small slits on either side. It covered her eye-catching rump. The rest of the suit was still forming fitting, hugging Ahsoka's hour-glass figure just as good as it always has.

It looked like Ahsoka was deep in conversation with her men when she turned her head towards the column of politicians passing by.

Her face lit up a little and she smiled when she saw Lux. His eyes connected with hers, and they were caught in another one of their trances. Ahsoka looked like she would faint if she swooned over him anymore than she was already. And Lux was so focused on her beauty that he didn't notice a column in his way.

"Umpf!" the young senator grunted as he bumped into the column.

Ahsoka brought her hand to her mouth to keep herself from laughing too hard. Her men saw what happened and they all chuckled. The other senators all looked with interest at Lux's accident and chuckled.

Lux, while rubbing the bruise on his forehead, smiled sheepishly and continued onward with the rest of the delegates.

Riyo smiled before she elbowed Lux playfully. "And I thought Jar Jar Binks was clumsy".

"Ha Ha Ha, very funny," Lux said sarcastically.

They all continued down the hall until they reached their quarters. Everyone was given a room. Lux went inside and started unpacking his suitcase. His room had a pair of queen-sized beds, a refresher (bathroom), and a sliding glass door that led to a balcony that looked out over the city.

About ten minutes later, when he was finished unpacking, he heard someone clearing their throat behind him.

He looked behind him to see someone leaning against the open door-frame.

It was Ahsoka, who was wearing one of her famous crooked smiles.

As he looked up and down her body the way he did when they first met, Lux noticed that she wasn't wearing her leggings. She still had her boots, her top, her skirt, her arm braces, fingerless gloves, and armlets. Without her leggings, Lux had an excellent view of her slender, yet meaty thighs and calves. She was leaning against the door-frame with one leg crossed over the other.

He then noticed that her top was unzipped all the way. The zipper seams were caught on her nipples, giving her a plunging 'v'-neck that showed him her cleavage and her belly.

He smiled back.

"That was quite the entrance you made Luxie," she said as she stepped into the room and used her elbow to press a button behind her.

The door closed and she walked over. Her breasts, which were hugged very nicely by the material of her top, gently bobbed up and down with each step she took towards him. As she walked, her hips swayed from side to side. Her calves were jiggling. Her thighs, quivering...

She pressed herself against him, pressing her breasts against his jacket, and coiled her arms around his neck, before she smashed her wet lips against Lux's for a soaking kiss. Lux closed his eyes and puckered his lips to return the kiss, and then he placed his hands on the sides of her waist, rubbing them up and down until he rested them on her hips, and pulled her closer. They stood there making out for a few minutes, moaning inside of each other's lips.

When they broke apart, Ahsoka spoke. "And here I was, afraid that I haven't left an impression on you after all these months apart," she said as she ran the palms of her hands down his pecks, referring to his obvious attraction towards her, as was made clear by him not being able to look where he was walking only moments ago in her presence.

Lux smiled.

"Never. Your beauty will always stun me. And quite frankly, you're well worth the wait," he said as he placed one hand on the small of her back, his fingertips brushing her plump butt cheeks.

"Hmmm. I guess love does hurt," Ahsoka said as she looked at the bruise on Lux's forehead, from when he smacked into the column earlier. She stood on her tippie-toes to kiss it.

Lux smirked.

She smiled sheepishly and blushed before smashing her lips against Lux's again. They closed their eyes and deepened the kiss. Lux wrapped his other arm around her hour-glass waist, and pulled her towards the chair in the corner of the room. He sat down on it, while Ahsoka slid into his lap, straddling him. Ahsoka leaned in and pressed her bust against Lux's chest, her plump tits sliding against his jacket. She then placed her hands on his shoulders and pressed her lips against his again. Her knees were far apart as she straddled Lux, but her feet were cross at the ankle between Lux's knees. Lux placed one hand in the crevice between her neck and rear Lekku and ran the other one down her _smooth_ , bare back until it rested on her rump.

In that moment, Ahsoka could almost feel the pure raw emotions coming from Lux through the kiss. His longing for her touch, the fear that she wouldn't return to him, the anxiety he felt when she was out fighting in the war. In that moment, Ahsoka wanted nothing more than to make it up to him, and show him that his patience should be well rewarded.

She moaned as she started to envelope Lux's lips with her own. Their tongues began to slowly duel for control of the other's mouth. Ahsoka let Lux win that battle to protect his male ego.

Lux allowed one of his hands to roam her body. They travelled up her waist, and along her shoulder and arm. He eventually brought it back down her back and down to rest on her rump, which he started to lightly squeeze.

They broke apart and stared at each other, their noses almost touching.

They smiled at each other and began to kiss again.

Ahsoka moaned in pleasure and began to lightly writhe her hips against Lux's pelvis, so she could feel the hardened bulge forming under his pants. She began to unzip his jacket, allowing her to snake her arms inside the jacket, and push her bust even harder against his second layer of clothing, causing her breasts to push together and threaten to plop out of her suit.

Lux noticed both of these actions. It meant that Ahsoka wanted more attention from him, which he was happy to provide.

He moved his other hand from her neck down to her butt cheeks. He reached underneath them to lift her up.

Ahsoka yelped and giggled.

She hooked both of her legs around Lux's waist, as he carried her over to the bed. When he felt his knees bump into the bed, Lux dropped her onto the mattress.

She giggled as she bounced up and down on the mattress, which was covered in soft silken bed sheets. He climbed down on top of her and dove in to silence her giggles by kissing her again.

Ahsoka fell silent and accepted Lux's kiss.

She was at a loss as to what to do with herself as the kiss placed upon her deepened into one of lust, passion and want. The way the young senator was gently gliding his hand over her lekku sent shivers down her spine as their tongues wrestled over one another for dominance, though it was more of a surreal and heated dance than a fight.

A small whimper escaped her throat as his other hand brushed against her breast and lingered there for a few seconds before he started cupping his hand over the clothed mound.

Togruta were so sceptical to even the tiniest touch in sensitive places, particularly in their Lekku and ... womanly assets. As a Jedi, she would have never been allowed to experience those feelings of intense pleasure in fear that such things would lead to the ever calling lure of the dark side.

But lucky for her, she was no Jedi. So the boy who cradled her in his arms and hands as he explored her mouth with his own, was no problem for her.

She hadn't in her wildest dreams expected to be doing this today. But when she saw that Lux Bonteri had been among the senators to come to Mandalore, she waisted no time in following the delegation to their rooms.

Her men would have no idea what was happening as they prepared to return to base, and be relieved by a new occupation force. But still, Ahsoka felt a little flustered about what her men would do if they came to look for her, and found herself beneath the Onderonian senator. But then again, it wasn't really any of their business.

 _'And what are they gonna do? Check every room looking for me. They've got better things to do,'_ Ahsoka thought to herself.

She pushed those thoughts away, but it was not a voluntary move. Her body had taken over her better judgment the second the senator from Onderon began to squeeze and caress the breast he had cupped in his hand, while his other hand moved quickly from her equally sensitive lekku to take a light grip of her bubbly behind.

Ahsoka was indeed a beauty to behold, as many female Togruta were. She stood at five and a half feet tall, boasting a perfect athletic body so eye catching with her fiery orange skin. Her pert D-Cup breasts, which often bobbed up and down with every step she took, would often draw the eyes of many onlookers without her knowing, while her voluptuous behind, supported by meaty thighs and calves, achieved that feat and more as it wiggled and swayed with each step she would take. None of these features had been lost on the masses; but unlike others unwilling to make a move on a beautiful young ex-Jedi Padawan, Lux had wasted no time in flirting his way into this position from the day they met, before finally laying her on the ground and enjoying the feel of her body for himself as an urge for something more began to build up inside him and cry out for release.

As he broke the kiss, Lux instantly noticed the glint of want and need within Ahsoka's crystal blue eyes. She acted so innocent... so fragile. But Lux knew better; she would have allowed him to do anything with her at that moment if he requested, or demanded, it of her.

Moving the hand that had come to rest on her rear to her cheek, Lux cupped the delicate flesh as the Lekku stripes of the girl beneath him blushed a deep purple. He didn't need to have the senses of a Jedi to know she was ready and willing to continue with this little affair.

Bedding Ahsoka had always been something he would find occupying his thoughts and dreams for nights on end, the sheer danger and excitement of taking a Jedi's flower for his own made him quiver just at imagining the scene, but Ahsoka's master terrified him, and made him hesitate for a while. He also didn't want to ruin her life as a Jedi, which was part of the reason he went after Steela back on Onderon, while still dreaming of being with Ahsoka.

With a wicked glint in his eye, the senator moved a finger over the young Togruta's purple lips, forcing her to pucker her lips and kiss his finger.

She was his prize now, his reward for going so long without having the opportunity to fulfil his one and only sexual goal in making this former Jedi squeal and cry out as he plundered her beautiful body.

"My darling, beautiful Ahsoka…" he began with a sigh, his tone smooth and unthreatening, unlike his lust-fuelled thoughts, "…I want you here and now. I want to make you mine."

His words were lost in the effect of his actions as he slowly manoeuvred himself to better grip at her clothes and he began to slide both of his hands up the bottom of her zipper, where it met her skirt. He ran his hands up her tight and toned stomach and they eventually slid into her already unzipped suit, and found her naked breasts underneath the fabric. He began to squeeze them for his own amusement in seeing Ahsoka's reactions. The quivering girl beneath him began to whimper and groan in pleasure.

They began to make out again as Lux began to grind his hips against Ahsoka's.

Lux grunted while Ahsoka moaned against his lips. He got out of his jacket and threw it to the side. He had a white button-up collared shirt underneath with long sleeves. Lux then went down Ahsoka's face, trailing kisses along her cheeks and jawline. He eventually trailed down her head-tails, his kisses alternating between her white and blue stripes.

The young senator was rewarded with Ahsoka's giggling.

He tried to suck on her neck. But the bodysuit she was wearing had a collar that wouldn't it.

So he improvised.

His hands still rested on her plump breasts underneath her dress. His hands clenched and unclenched, making the soft mountains of flesh sink and rise with his fingers.

This made Ahsoka sigh and throw her head back into the pillow.

Lux then went down to the unzipped seam of her suit, over her chest. He had an excellent view, which showed off her breasts. He squeezed them together, making them look like they'd plop out and make her dress explode. He swore that he could see her nipples threatening to slip out of the suit. He then dove down and buried his face into her breasts.

Ahsoka closed her eyes, and arched her back. She stretched her arms over her head and pushed her breasts up into the air, as her lover began to rub his cheeks back and forth between her bust, enjoying their warmth and softness, even using his tongue to lick the valley in between.

"Mmmmh," Ahsoka started humming, in response to her lover's gripping massage, showing Lux how soothing it was for her. She brought her hands up and began to bury her fingertips inside of Lux's hair, as he continued rubbing his cheeks even harder into the soft orange breasts that he loved resting his head on.

But before the lovers could continue their little escapade, they heard a knock at the door.

The two of them gasped.

They both sighed in disbelief, but Ahsoka found herself giggling a little.

"You've got to be kidding me!?" Lux exclaimed through clenched teeth.

"You have to learn to have fun with it Luxie. Now go see who it is," Ahsoka said before kissing his forehead.

"This is going to be humiliating," Lux said, referring to the massive bulge in his pants. He got up and went over to the door.

He answered the door.

It was Senator Riyo Chuchi.

"Riyo? Uhm..hello," Lux said.

"Hello Lux. The others just wanted me to let you know that we'll be going to Concordia tomorrow after we inspect the troops tomorrow. The ceremony will be tomorrow at 8:00. am," Riyo said.

"Thank you. I'll uh ... be there tomorrow. Thank you" Lux said, a little nervously.

Riyo noticed that Lux's fair skin was flushed pink.

"Is everything alright?" She asked.

"Nothing's wrong. I just..." Lux paused, briefly hesitating to speak. "...I have company right now," he finally explained.

"Hi Riyo!" Ahsoka called out from inside the dimly lit room.

"Oh, Ahsoka! May I come in and say hello?" Riyo asked.

Riyo and Ahsoka were close friends. When she left the order, Riyo gave her a job on her security team. And when Ahsoka left Coruscant, Lux begged Riyo to tell him where Ahsoka went. Come to think of it, Riyo was the reason these two are together.

But Lux was alarmed. He swiftly blocked Riyo before she could try to walk in, alarming her slightly. "Uhm, er, not tonight. I, we, uhm. We're kind of in the middle of something," Lux tried to explain.

Riyo looked confused. "In the middle of what?" She asked before she looked down and saw the large tent in Lux's pants. The second her eyes met his bulge, she swiftly looked back up to Lux's face. "Oh! I see," she said, with her cheeks blushing a deep purple. Lux looked off to the side a little embarrassed, his cheeks bright red as he was stunned into silence. "In that case, I'll get out of your hair," Chuchi said as she walked off, blushing feverishly. "Goodnight Senator".

"Same to you," he said as Riyo walked off back down the hall. He closed the door, locked it, and sighed in relief. "Finally".

Lux walked back around the corner.

Ahsoka was laying down in the bed underneath the sheets. But all of her clothes and boots were piled up next to the bed, with her sabers on the nightstand.

Lux knew what that meant.

Ahsoka sat back up in the bed and stretched. The sheets fell down from her shoulders and down to her waist, revealing her breasts and stomach. She leaned back and propped herself up with her palms on the bed sheets.

Ashoka's lifestyle as a warrior did her body well, as not a single bit of body fat was visible on her well-trimmed stomach, which was skinnier than her hips and bust, giving her a perfect hourglass figure.

Her perky melons rose and collapsed with each breath she took. The hardened nipples moved in tiny circles everytime her breasts heaved with anticipation.

Lux was mesmerized by the naked, and heavily breathing, goddess sitting in his bed, waiting for him.

"Now ... where were we, Luxie?" Ahsoka asked with a seductive smirk.

 _ **(WARNING: LEMON SCENE STARTING. You've been warned.)**_

Lux snapped out of it and smirked.

He quickly started to take his clothes off one layer at a time. Lux continued to undress until he was left only covered by a pair of tight fitting black boxer shorts, which were failing to keep his now raging hardness in check.

The young Togruta's eyes never left the senator as he removed his clothes to once again equal her in terms of their shared nakedness, but almost as soon as Lux had removed his pants, her eyes had locked on to, and not moved away from, the bulge, making her bite her lip and squeeze at her breasts once again as she anticipated what was going to happen next.

The sight of his girlfriend massaging her own breasts was so ...oh so... intoxicating, he worried he wouldn't be able to control himself, lest he explode in orgasm at that very second as he drank in every inch of his fragile orange lover's quivering body and ran every different way he would make love to her through his head.

Without hesitating, he quickly and finally slipped out of his always tightening boxer shorts, releasing his throbbing, seven inch penis as it pointed at Ahsoka, and twitched when he saw the wide eyed look she gave it.

Ahsoka then looked up at him and smiled seductively. Her predatory instincts quickly boosting the adrenalin as she eyed the symbol of her hidden lusts. Her inborn instincts were driven wild by the sight; planting thoughts into her head she never would have even imagined were her own, were it not for her leaving the Order.

Placing a knee on the soft quilts that covered the bed, he lied back down on top of Ahsoka, who still had bed sheets covering everything below her bikini-line.

He started planting wet kisses on her tight and toned stomach as he trailed upwards towards her chest. He could feel his hardness pushing against the sheets beneath them.

Within a second he went underneath the sheets with her, allowing him access to the quivering girl's hot and smooth body. He lowered his mouth and took one of her nipples in with a gentle suck. He groped the other breast with one hand, and moved the other one down onto the sheets to steady himself.

As Lux suckled on his prize, small gasps began to escape Ahsoka's parted lips.

Her primal needs were in full control of her body, and her mind began to close down as pleasure began to drown out her thoughts. Her heart was beating fast against her chest, and thundering in her head, as Lux's wet tongue continued making circles around her pert nipple, sending more and more shockwaves down to her core. He eventually gave Ahsoka's other breast the same treatment, sending more of the same shockwaves throughout her body.

Lux grabbed Ahsoka underneath her thighs and stood up in a kneeling position, with Ahsoka's legs still wrapped around his waist. He was kneeling and holding Ahsoka's hips, while Ahsoka's shoulders were still on the bed. He then began to mercilessly slam his hips into hers.

"Mmmmh! MMmmmmmhh!"

The unexpected sensation made Ahsoka arch her back and squeal with pleasure as she felt Lux's hardened cock pounding into her core.

Because there's less skin contact between them, Ahsoka instinctively grasped at her bobbing breasts with both of her hands and gently massaged them, as she was pleasured by her lover.

In his kneeling position, he boldly thrusted his hips into hers, penetrating her deeply.

After a few moments of this position, Lux stopped, lied back down atop Ahsoka, and continued to pound into Ahsoka's midsection.

After a few moments, Ahsoka's Lekku started to make a purring noise. It meant that Ahsoka was experiencing pure bliss. Lux knew what that meant, and he began to push his erection deeper into Ahsoka's body with each thrust. She gasped, closed her eyes, and threw her head back into the pillow.

Her moans aroused Lux further, and he began to thrust into her at a faster rate. Ahsoka arched her back and pushed her bust up into Lux's chest, and threw her head back over the pillows

In return, he rested his chin on her shoulder and pressed his face in between her cheek and Lekku. His hot breath tickled her neck.

"Dear God! I love you Ahsoka," he breathed into her neck.

She didn't say anything in return. Instead, he merely moaned and gasped, sighing his name here and there.

"Aahh! Mmmh! Mmmmmh! Uuh! LUuux!"

Lux coiled his arms underneath Ahsoka's shoulders. Ahsoka buried her fingertips in Lux's hair as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

Lux's grunts and Ahsoka's sighs were in perfect rhythm with Lux's pelvic thrusts.

Their bodies began to moisten and both lovers continued to moan in pleasure as they rubbed their slippery bodies against one another's.

Lux, to his credit held himself firm despite the orange teen girl's movements. He had a bit of experience with the acts of sex from the night that he and Ahsoka made love near that pond on Shili, after escaping that Separatist Destroyer. That night, they shared a night of hot, blistering passion with each other after swimming in the small creak for hours. His memories of that night and the actions he had performed and perfected on his Togrutan lover proved to be just effective at this moment, as Ahsoka continued to thrash, moan and shudder under his well-aimed thrusts into her wet entrance and moved his hands up so as to take a hold on Ahsoka's plump, feminine melons, and begin moulding them like clay.

"Ahsoka… my beautiful love." He spoke softly and lovingly down at her as he moved to gently nimble at her neck and whisper in her Lekku, "Cum for me, my sweet…"

Moments later, Ahsoka felt a throbbing sensation in her core. The flood that had threatened to burst from inside her finally achieved its victory and orgasm washed over her like a hot river of blissful perfection. She gasped and shuddered, writhing her hips to meet Lux's thrusts as her walls began to tighten around his hardened member like a vice. Lux felt the wet gush of her juices squirt free onto his lower body and the sheets beneath them.

Lux grunted and began to push harder in order to keep pleasuring himself and Ahsoka. Moments later, Lux's scrotum clenched and a throbbing sensation travelled along his shaft before he thrust as deep as he could one final time.

He grunted as he coiled his arms around Ahsoka's waist and held her close, as he began to pump his hot and sticky substance into Ahsoka's body.

The full feeling followed by the flow of Lux's seed into her womb sent Ahsoka's orgasm into overdrive as she squealed out loudly, before lifting her head up to bury herself in her lovers warm shoulder.

Her lekku twitched and vibrated almost violently as she was filled up to the point of bursting once again, though all she could think about was how good it felt, how together they had shared a warmth that she hadn't experienced with him in months. The feeling was love and she felt it for Lux in the same way she knew he felt it for her. She smiled into his shoulder as he grunted and hummed lowly as they collapsed together onto the bed in a heap, spent and left to bask in the blissful aftermath of their love.

Lux chuckled lightly as he rolled the two of them over and allowed Ahsoka to lie on top of him, his throbbing member still stuck deep inside her as they stared into each other's eyes and shared another long, loving kiss. They lay there for what seemed like hours, trying not to drift off to sleep in each other's arms as they continued to lock their tongues in a battle for supremacy neither were worried about losing.

As they continued making out, the sun began to finally set over Mandalore's desert horizon, shining its orange rays through the translucent dome that covered the city, and cast orange light into the dimly lit room. The lights eventually disappeared behind the horizon, shrouding the room, and the kissing lovers, in near total darkness.

After a few minutes, Lux began to slowly rub his softening penis back to hardness inside Ahsoka's leaking midsection in an effort that made the girl break their kiss for but an instant before she reengaged their battle with even more fire than before.

He began thrusting into her once again, taking a firm hold of her round and firm buttocks with each hand as he allowed her to ride him, her moans filling his ears like a sweet song as he watched her raise herself up to her knees and bounce on him as naturally as a seasoned veteran of the act.

It was their combined moans that had however distracted them from any attempt at discretion, though in truth that had gone out the window as soon as Ahsoka had reached her first orgasm that night under his hard thrusts.

Neither of them even thought about the consequences of the rising volume, much less the attention it had attracted from outside the door to them.

"Lux…! Oh! Lux! I love yeeeeoooohhhaaaaahhhhhh!" Ahsoka moaned, and then squeeled out as she once again felt the raptures of orgasm wave over her entire body and she impaled herself on the senator's penis, as Lux too let out a loud groan and filled her up once more with his hot, life giving seed.

No matter what bad thing they've experienced in their recent memories, they could both forget about it that night as the sounds of their love making could drown out their painful thoughts, and be heard down the hall.

 **(Lemon scene ends)**

* * *

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Conversation between Chancellor Dalyell of the Republic and Bec Lawise, the current public leader of the Separatist_ _Parliament_.

 _Dalyell: "Premier Deschenko. I'm going to get straight to the point: This War. Needs. To end. But it won't end with a total Separatist victory. So, I would like to make one final attempt to make peace with the Confederacy of Independent Systems"._

 _Bec Lawise_ _: "I'm sure we could agree to a white peace if you cut your military budget, shut down the cloning facilities on Kamino, pay_ _reparations to our people, and perhaps give up some of your territory, then maybe in return, we will come to the negotiating table"._

 _Dalyell: "I won't accept those terms. I will only accept a white peace or your total surrender. And I am begging you to accept the former"._

 _Bec Lawise_ _: "Is that a threat? I'm not surprised. Your Predecessor was a warmongering tyrant, so I wouldn't expect anything less from you"._

 _Dalyell: "He was a closet tyrant who conspired with your predecessor, who was a more open tyrant. Which is why I feel that we should stop this fighting. Both sides have been played from the start"._

 _Bec Lawise_ _: "NO, your side was played! Our problems were real. Your Republic was crushing us under the weight of its oppressive boot. You will not spit on Count Dooku's great legacy or his name! He was our Hero. He gave us a voice."_

 _Dalyell: "You're right. Your problems were real, because my predecessor did drive you away. But he and Dooku were conspiring to do so and create the war. Dooku gave you a voice, and you can continue to have your voices heard. I implore you, accept my offer. Agree to negotiate peace. We will allow you to keep your independence. That is something that I can assure you that Palpatine would never do"._

 _Bec Lawise_ _: "Never! We will fight to our last breath. We will fight until you have to charge over mountains of your fallen slaves, and through debris fields of your fleets, to attack us. And then one day, when your Republic is ripped apart from the inside, we will march across the burning ruins of your disgusting Capital, and raise the Banner of the Separatist Alliance over your Corrupt Oligarchy"_.

Dalyell tried to say something before the transmission was cut off, ending the holographic conversation. Dalyell leaned over in his seat and held his forehead before gently massaging the part of his head that started to pulsate.

Bec Lawise was obviously a true believer ... and a fighter. Either that or he was feeding a massive ego.

Perhaps both.

But he didn't know what was in store for him by walking away from the negotiating table.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Executive Directive from the Chancellor's office._

From: Office of the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic Congress.

To: The Admiralty of the Republic Navy.

Subject: Hammer of Dawn Deployment.

 _Valiant warriors of the Republic Army and Navy, despite our greatest efforts, the CIS has once again refused our generous offer of peaceful negotiations. Because of this, it has been concluded that the Confederacy has no intention of ending this war peacefully, and therefore must be neutralized as a threat if the war is to end, and if the Republic is to survive. You are hereby authorized to swiftly bring the enemies of the Republic to heel through any means necessary, or possible. That includes the full arsenal of the Republic Navy. We must destroy the CIS's will, and ability, to fight. You will do whatever you conclude is necessary to cripple the Confederacy's ability to wage war by targeting their droid, equipment, and ship-building capabilities, to ensure total victory for the Galactic Republic._

 _Signed: His excellency, Tomas Dalyell, Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Congress, and Commander-in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Galactic Republic._

Message ends.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Kashyyyk, Republic Base near Kashirro_.

"This is Commander Gree. We are about to be overrun. General Unduili is wounded, and General Vos is missing. The Seppies are knocking on my door. We can't hold them much longer!" He shouted into his com-link.

No response.

Gree and his men from the 41st Elite Corps, along with the Wookie natives, were in the middle of a fight for their very lives.

Red plasma crashed down all around them. Sand was kicked up by the concussive force, and the screams of wounded Clones and Wookies alike filled the air.

Ever since Master Yoda left for Coruscant, and the revolution started back in the core, the Republic has halted all major offensives into the Outer Rim. This emboldened the CIS to launch an offensive of their own. They went over the border in several sections, attacking GAR supply routes, isolated Republic outposts, and even attacked critical systems, like Kashyyyk.

The Republic Fleet suffered heavy casualties in orbit before scattering across the system. Now, after being been given control of the skies over Kachirro, Separatist warships were hammering the place.

Red laser bolts slammed into the beachheads and treetop buildings of Kachirro.

The RSV _Tranquility_ was still parked behind the beach and concealed by the trees.

It used its cannons to provide artillery support for the troops on the beach, and its dwindling fighter compliment fought desperately to hold off the CIS warships.

"Shit! No response!" Gree exclaimed.

Just then, several Hyena bombers swooped by, ready to drop their payload on the Tranquility. The ship's cannons woke up and blasted away at the enemy bombers. Several bombers were downed, but a few dropped their payload on the Star-Destroyer. Explosions blossomed all over its hull. The shields glowed and popped. The ship itself suffered multiple hull breaches. The ship was still intact, but its cannons fell silent, and fires raged across the ship.

Confederate forces continued the assault in the air and on the ground

"Sir, what are we gonna do?!"

Gree looked around. The city was on fire, the ship was on fire, and his men had no where to go.

"Fall back behind the sea wall. We'll draw them in and fight them on our terms!" Gree ordered.

"You heard him fall back!" A clone shouted as they continued fighting.

The 41st Elite Corps, along with elements of the 501st Legion, and the Wookie natives, had been beaten back by Separatist forces, which were advancing on the Kachirho sea wall and attempting to destroy a crucial energy refinery.

As the Republic retreated, the Separatists advanced, but not after paying a price first. Republic fighters continued to swoop down and strafe the beach, blasting the Separatist forces apart.

Republic artillery pieces continued to blast the Separatist tanks into chunks of metal debris.

Eventually, Commander Gree managed to lead the surviving clones and Wookies inside the city's outer wall.

 _"This is it, men. We have to hold this wall until reinforcements arrive. No retreats. No excuses._ " Gree said into his communicator, rallying his men for battle.

"GGRRRRR!" The Wookies chanted.

"OOHAH!" The Clones called out.

Everyone took up positions in front of the main entrance and the towering logs that were wove together to for Kachirho's great wall. Defending the city from inside were two concussion turrets and multiple clone scout troopers, who prepared fire on the advancing enemy snail tanks and the droid forces. TX-130 light hover tanks and AT-RT scout walkers moved into position. Clones and Wookies took cover and aimed their weapons at the wall.

Suddenly, Separatist firepower began to blast the wooden wall apart, blowing holes into it. That's when the walls came crashing down, and the first wave of Separatist battle droids and snail tanks came charging in like ancient cavalry.

"FIRE!" Gree shouted before the Clones and Wookies blasted at the invaders with everything they had.

Blaster bolts, artillery fire, rockets and grenades were fired into the horde of charging droids. Clusters of droids that packed together were wiped out. After a few minutes of being blanketed by Republic firepower, the Separatist offensive began to stall out.

This allowed the Republic to charge out of the city, over the remains of the sea wall, and bring the fight to the Droid Army.

Droids had their arms ripped out of their sockets by raging Wookies who used their bare hands. Clones blasted droids point blank and hacked away at them with their laser bayonets.

A Wookie named Chewbacca grabbed a battle droid and used it as a shield as he charged at a group of battle droids, firing his bow-caster as he went. He roared out a battle cry with the rest of his fellow warriors.

"For the Republic!" one clone shouted as he fired his DC-15L at the enemy.

"Come on you clankers," another clone said, taunting the droids with a signature slang term.

The battle raged even harder. Republic cannons that were still operating on the RSV _Tranquility_ blasted away at the CIS warships in defiance. Wookie catamarans and Republic fighters continued to hold off the CIS warships.

Sep dropships were blasted out of the sky before they could land more troops in front of the city.

Republic Tanks and infantry began to launch their counterattack, with the intention of pushing the enemy ground forces back into the lake.

But just as they left the city, ad went to retake the beachhead, the clones and wookies all stopped. They saw an entire new army of fresh battle droids. Their were thousands of droids, and dozens of tank, which began to pound away at the Republic and Wookie forces, forcing them to abandon the counterattack.

The CIS warships, which were still hovering over the lake, blasted the city with an even greater ferocity.

Juggernaught Tanks were blasted apart, treetop platforms tipped over after their supports were blasted apart underneath them, and fires raged everywhere.

"Is there anyone there? We Need Support. RIGHT NOW!" Gree shouted into his comm-link.

" _This is Captain Jan Dodonna of the Republic Navy. We read you Commander. What's your situation_?" The voice asked.

"Sir. I've got the entire Sep Navy knocking on my door! We need air support, AND WE NEED IT NOW!" Gree shouted.

" _Alright Commander. Mark those targets and we'll see what we can do_ ," Dodonna said.

"Aye Sir. Someone mark those warships," Gree ordered into his com system.

* * *

Delta Squad had been on the planet for weeks now. They rescued Wookies that were being held by the Separatist advance forces, they destroyed a large supply base, and even cut off the Droid army's attack routes into Kachirho, forcing them to take their army straight into the gauntlet of Republic and Wookie firepower.

But now, the Seps were back, and Delta squad needed to help stop them once again.

" _Delta Lead, the Republic Navy needs the exact coordinates of the Separatist warships. Use your laser designators to paint those warships. Then I'll send the information to Captain Dodonna,_ " A clone said over Delta Squad's comm-links.

"Roger that Advisor," Delta 38, aka Boss, said as he and his men came up on a ridge that overlooked the entire lake. They could see the Separatitst warships bombarding the city far of in the distance. "This looks like a good spot. Let's get to it squad".

The commandoes pressed a button on the sides of their rifles and flashed a blue laser beam that they used to sight the Separatist warships. As they hovered their beams over the warships, the Advisor was able to see where the beams stopped, realizing that that was where the ships must've been.

When the squad was almost done, a laser blast flew over their heads and hit a tree next to Scorch. He turned around and saw at least a dozen Separatist-aligned Trandoshan mercenaries heading up hill through the brush to attack them.

"Lizards Ho!" Scorch exclaimed. He turned around and started firing on the advancing lizards.

"Sev, keep lazing those targets, we'll deal with these fierfeks!" Boss said as he and Fixer turned to join Scorch in driving the lizards off.

Sev turned back and continued to use his rifle's laser designator to paint the enemy warships above the lake with a massive sign that said 'kick me'. But that's when one trando-merc got passed his brothers and tried to cut him up with dual daggers. Sev swiftly turned around and tried to train his gun on, but the trando knocked it out of his hand and lunged at him. But before he could stick down daggers into Sev, he grabbed the lizard's wrists and held them still above his head, the daggers hovering near his helmet. But then he leaned back and swiftly head butted the lizard. Green blood began to pool out of its nose. Some of it even got on Sev's helmet. He then raised his leg and kicked the lizard as hard as he could into its stomach, forcing it to double over. It dropped its daggers to hold its stomach. That's when Sev extended a blade from his wrist vambrace. The lizard looked up with fearful eyes as Sev slashed it across the throat, spewing green blow everywhere. The lizard fell back and gagged on its own blood before finally dying.

The other commandoes finished off the trandos, who were wiped out to the last lizard.

When they were done, Boss looked back at the enemy fleet.

"Alright, now that that's out of the way, get back on those laser designators. We've got a city to save," Boss said.

"You think they'll name a city street after me?" Scorch joked.

"Yeah, Scorch avenue. That sounds like a safe road," Sev said.

"Stow it Deltas," Fixer ordered the squad's resident wise-asses.

They finished lazing the targets. Now it was time to watch their work pay off for the entire planet.

* * *

Moments later, Dodonna got back on the comm to speak to Commander Gree again, who's forces were still fighting for their lives to save a burning city.

" _Got it. Targets marked. Just sit back and enjoy the show, gentlemen_ ," Dodonna said.

For a few minutes nothing happened.

Suddenly, the gray clouds started to glow blue. Then several powerful beams split the clouds apart and made contact with a hulls of the Sep warships. For a couple seconds, it seemed like the blue beams connected the CIS warships to the clouds. Then suddenly...they exploded. Entire sections of the ships disappeared in a brilliant explosion, before what was left of them crashed into the lake below. The Separatist camp on the other side of the lake was also wiped out. The entire Separatist invasion force was wiped out by a giant eraser made of white hot plasma.

Every Clone and Wookie looked up to see what had just happened. Normally, they'd be celebrating. But the way their victory was achieved stunned them beyond any rational thought.

"Damn," one of the clones exclaimed softly.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Felucia, Outer Rim_.

On the fungal forests of Felucia, Aayla Secura and her men from the 327th Star Corps were fighting an uphill battle...literally.

She and her man were fighting for their lives. The CIS forces had dozens of heavy cannons in the hills and clifftops overlooking the region. They were firing down on the Republic forces.

Clone troopers that were concealed in the trees tried to fire up at the cliffs.

Republic troop transports stayed back to avoid the CIS firepower. It didn't work for some of them.

AT-TE walkers used their powerful cannons to fire on the CIS forces on the high ground. Some CIS emplacements were blasted off the cliff. But the majority were still active

Separatist cannons and Spider walkers fired back, blasting the walkers. The damaged and burning walkers collapsed, their crew stumbling out to avoid the flames.

Jedi knight Aayla Secura ... who was wearing tight yoga pants to show off her beautiful rump, a tube top that hugged her large breasts and show off her beautiful stomach, and high-heeled boots ... was in the middle of it all.

As she deflected blaster bolts that were coming her way, her large breasts jiggled with every move she made. Commander Bly and his men fired up at the mountain fortress. Republic tanks exploded left and right. Several Gunships were shot down trying to get supplies into the area.

"Commander. Is there any way that we can take out those cannons?" Aayla asked in her native accent, as she deflected more and more laser shots with her blue saber.

"Sure, with a few battleships maybe!" He exclaimed.

but then, out of no where, several blue beams shot through the sky and slammed into the CIS positions. They slowly moved across the hilltops like a giant destructive eraser. Massive walls of fire rose up over the fungus. Thousands of birds flew out of the burning forest, trying to get away from the fire.

Everyone looked up in horror, surprise, and relief.

"Bly, was that ours?" Aayla asked.

At that moment, dozens of Republic fighters, bombers, and gunships flew down from orbit to the burning hilltops.

"I guess so," Bly said.

When Aayla was done watching the burning hilltops, she signaled to her men to move forward. "Everyone, advance!" She called out.

The Republic convoy got moving again.

Aayla and her men moved up to the CIS fortifications on the large hilltops that looked out over the landscape in every direction. They secured the area without encountering any resistance.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Mygeeto, outer rim._

On the crystal world of Mygeeto, The Clone and Droid armies were fighting for control of the city. A long bridge connected the two sections of the city. The Republic side and the Separatist side.

A massive snow storm hovered over the battle.

Ki-Adi-Mundi and Commander Bacara were leading their Galactic Marines from the 21st Nova Corps in a fight to take the other side.

"Come on!" Mundi called out.

As the Republic began to advance across the bridge, several Octuptarra tri-droids towered over the CIS positions on the other side.

They fired their heavy cannons at the bridge.

"Incoming!" Bacara shouted.

The bridge was hit by dozens of plasma blasts. It eventually started to give way.

"It's breaking away!" Captain Jet shouted out.

"Get clear! Get off the bridge!" Mundi ordered.

Everyone started to get clear, but many weren't fast enough.

The bridge fell into the deep gorge below, along with dozens of clones and several armored viechles.

Bacara could see the other side. Jet trooper droids and several hovering octuptarra tri-driods were amassing near the other side, ready for a counter-attack.

"Stand by. Get ready for them to counterattack!" Mundi called out as his men assumed a defensive stance.

A few moments later, the gray clouds began to glow blue.

"Now what?" Jet asked.

Suddenly, several blue plasma beams split through the dark storm clouds and came crashing into the ruined and deserted city on the other side. The droid army was wiped out along with the city. Everyone was shocked. The city was just gone. And the Republic was just about ready for an attack that would obviously never come.

"What just happened?" one Clone asked as everyone stared at the burning city in disbelief.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Raxus, capital of the CIS, office of acting Separatist Parliament leader,_.

The acting public leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Bec Lawise, looked at the monitors in front of him.

They showed the raw destructive power that the Republic Navy was capable of.

Fleets were blown apart. Naval yards, airfields, droid/vehicle factories on the frontline were blown to pieces and left to burn. Clone forces marched over the remains of their droid counterparts without any resistance whatsoever.

The use of this new weapon by the Republic was reported on 29 different worlds in the outer rim. All were fortress worlds, some of which were close to Raxus and several other Separatist core worlds.

The Siniteen male was witnessing the end of the world. And whether he knew it then or now, he had agreed to keep on fighting his way to the destruction of the Confederacy.

He wasn't the only one watching it. This was being transmitted by the Republic all over the galaxy. It was supposed to be a show of force. According to the CIS's intelligence organizations, It was working. The revolution in the core, as well as all further threats of secession, was dying down planet by planet until the mob scattered, surrendered, or fled underground.

There was a knock on his door.

"Come in," he said.

It was his secretary.

"Sir. You have a call coming in. It's Chancellor Dalyell," she said.

With a deep breath, he contemplated the news after a few dozen rapid heart beats.

"Put it through," he ordered, as his hands shook a little.

Seconds later, Chancellor Dalyell's image appeared on the holo-projector on his desk.

"What do you want?" He asked, his yellow eyes full of contempt and slight terror.

 _"Chairman Lawise. You've seen the power of the Hammer of Dawn. You've witnessed our destructive capability. I gave you a chance to end the war peacefully, and walk away with your independence and sovereignty intact. But you've tried my patience, and you failed. Now I have new terms: Unconditional Surrender. The Separatist droid armies will shut down. The Separatist Navy will be impounded and eventually dismantled. Full Military Access will be granted to the Republic Army and Navy. And all former Confederate territory will be subject to a Military occupation until you've been reintegrated back into the Republic,"_ Dalyell said, laying out his terms.

Everything he was saying made Lawise feel sick. He brought his hand up to his giant head to massage a headache.

Dalyell continued.

 _"If none of these demands are met, then I will have no choice but to instruct the Republic Navy to unleash the full power of the Hammer of Dawn upon your cities. Your fleets. Won't. Be able. To stop us."_ Dalyell said, emphasizing the last 8 words, venom dripping from each one.

Lawise's hands started to shake, and sweat began to pour down the side of his large head.

"B-but, millions would die," he said.

" _Billions already have,_ " Dalyell casually stated, making Deschenko's throat swell up. " _I'll give you one week to accept my offer. You know how to reach me"._

Dalyell's hologram disappeared, leaving Deschenko alone in his office with his thoughts.

This was the end of the CIS as he knew it.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Unknown Location_.

 _Ahsoka found herself surrounded by fog._

 _It was so thick that she could've cut it apart with her lightsabers._

 _She looked around, confused._

 _"Hello?!" She called out. Her voice echoed through the fog._

 _A hissing noise called to her._

 _It sounded like the hissing noise was saying 'Ahsoka'._

 _This peaked her interest._

 _"Is someone there?" She asked._

 _All of a sudden, the fog lifted, and the world around her was on fire. Bodies littered the ground around her. Many of them were Clones and Jedi, including younglings. Many more were men, women, and children. On closer inspection, it looked like Coruscant. Its mighty skyscrapers were on fire or knocked over. In the distance, the Senate building was ripped open, like someone placed a grenade inside of a doll-house._

 _The Jedi Temple's towers were damaged, while the roof was on fire._

 _Every part of what she was seeing was beyond disturbing._

 _"Ahsoka," someone said behind her._

 _Someone from the corpse pile limped towards her. She almost screamed. But, when she looked closer, she saw who it was. Her old master, Anakin Skywalker._

 _"Anakin?!" She exclaimed. She went over to him, to keep him from falling forward._

 _"What happened?" She asked, tears rolling down her cheeks._

 _"The..." He coughed. "...The Sith. They did this. We tried to fight them off, but - Urgh! - you weren't there. Why weren't you there Ahsoka? Why did you leave us when we needed you the most?"_

 _Ahsoka was in utter shock._

 _"What? No! I was trying to help others," she said frantically, even more tears rolled down her cheeks._

 _"But I needed you here. You failed Me! You failed all of Us!" he accused her, before a pair of red blades jutted out of his chest._

 _Ahsoka screamed and stumbled backwards onto the ground as her old master was killed right in front of her._

* * *

Ahsoka abruptly woke up in a cold sweat, propping herself up on her elbows.

Ahsoka gasped in a deep breath while clenching the sheets with her hands as hard as she could. For a moment, she struggled to remember where she was ... and to remember why she was naked. She looked to her left out the window. It was still dark out.

She felt warm flesh beneath her. It belonged to someone that was equally naked beneath her. It was her boyfriend, Lux Bonteri, who was asleep and naked after a fantastic night of love-making.

But instead of focusing on the pleasant activity last night, she focused on the nightmare that she just had. Then she started thinking of her Master. Her master, who was now dead **_(A/N: according to the Jedi Council)_**. She choked up and started to gasp. Tears welled up in her eyes before they streamed down her cheeks before the sobbing began.

After a few minutes, Lux stirred in his sleep. He moaned and tried to look up through his squinted eyes. But when Ahsoka continued to sob, he eventually woke up. He yawned very loudly and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

Lux then realized that his lover was crying.

He turned a light on, dimly lighting up the dark room. Then, he propped himself onto one arm and he ran the other one up and down Ahsoka's Lekku.

"Ahsoka, what's wrong?" He asked with concern. Almost immediately, she threw threw herself on him and pinned him to the bed, before burying her face into his shoulder, her tears getting his shoulder wet.

She sniffled hard. Lux was shocked, but he ran one hand up and down her back. He patted and stroked her lekku with the other. "He's gone. My master's gone. I failed him," Ahsoka said as she continued to sob.

"What are you talking about?" Lux asked. "The planet's been liberated".

"But Maul got away and Rex was nearly killed. And now Anakin's dead. I wasn't there when he needed me," she said as she sniffed and sobbed.

Lux, having suffered through a few tragedies of his own, understood what Ahsoka was going through. He didn't know much about being a Jedi, but he knew one thing: The bond between Master and Apprentice was unbreakable.

She laid on her side and Lux comforted her until she settled down.

He leaned over and kissed her lekku.

"Ahsoka, I understand what you're going through. But, you didn't let anyone down. You did your best. You pushed 110% every time. If you're master was around right now, then he would be the proudest Jedi in the galaxy. No, the proudest person in the universe. In fact, I'm proud of you Ahsoka," Lux said.

Ahsoka sniffed again and wiped away her remaining tears.

She looked at him, her Lekku turning a darker shade of blue. Her cheeks were tinted pink a little.

"Re-really?" She asked in a choked up voice.

"More than anyone," he smiled, before cupping her cheeks with his hands, using his thumbs to wipe her tears off of her cheeks.

She sniffled again and wiped her eyes. But then she smiled.

"Thanks Lux," she said her pressing her lips against his. They smiled.

Then Lux pulled her head into his chest again before he kissed the tips of her montrals.

"Okay," she said obediently before snuggling her face into his neck. "I love you Lux," she said.

"I love you too Ahsoka," Lux said.

A couple minutes later, they both drifted off to sleep.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Message to office of Supreme Chancellor Dalyell, from the planet Raxus_.

To: The high office of his excellency Supreme Chancellor Tomas Dalyell.

From: The high office of Chairman Bec Lawise of the Separatist Parliament.

Subject: Surrender.

 _"Chancellor, after having a few hours to think of your demands, and the consequences of ignoring them, I have decided that there is no choice but to accept them. After bringing this news to the Separatist Senate, they have also come to accept that the Confederacy of Independent Systems continued resistance is futile. You have defeated us, and we accept that. We have decided to began the process of deactivating or military infrastructure, and we would like to invite you and any delegates from the Republic Senate that would like to preside over the Armistice between our two peoples."_

-Chairman Bec Lawise, acting Public Leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, acting Commander-in-Chief for the Separatist Droid Army and Navy.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Royal Palace, Sun'dari, Mandalore_.

Lux could hear a strange beeping noise in his sleep.

He slowly woke up.

When he opened his eyes, his vision was fuzzy. As he started blinking, his vision came into focus.

With his eye sight fully cleared up, he could see the beautiful togrutan that he made love to last night still laying on top of him.

Ahsoka stirred a little in her sleep. She groaned as she struggled to wake up.

Lux smiled down at her before stroking her head tails with one hand, while holding the small of her back with the other.

She moaned lightly in pleasure before snuggling her head into Lux's chest.

That's when he remembered that he heard beeping in his sleep.

It was his com-device. It was giving him a notification.

He looked at him and read the time.

7:15 AM.

He then remembered when Senator Chuchi said that the Senatorial Inspection ceremony started at 8:00 AM. He had 45 minutes to get ready and go eat breakfast downstairs.

Lux turned his head back to Ahsoka, who was not only awake, but staring right at him. She was smiling. Her blue eyes sparkled like two crystal pools. "Why good morning," Lux said with a smirk.

Ahsoka reached to scratch Lux's cheek. "Hm. Good Morning to you too".

She leaned in and pressed her lips to Lux's. She moaned against his lips.

They broke apart to look into each others eyes.

"You know, I've never slept in a nice warm bed with a girl to share it with," Lux said as he glided his hands up and down Ahsoka's waist. Neither of them noticed, but Lux was still inside of Ahsoka. His member began to stiffen and spring up inside her flower.

"Mmmmmh. And I've never gone to bed with somebody inside of me," Ahsoka said when she noticed it.

Lux smiled.

But he remembered that he didn't have any time for more fun with Ahsoka.

He sat up and lifted her off of him. As she lied down in the silk sheets of the bed, he got off the bed and walked towards the refresher. "I have to be out of here in about 20 minutes," Lux called out to her.

Ahsoka looked up at the ceiling with a scowl. She just sat there for about 15 minutes, thinking. She got up and started putting her post-Jedi clothes back on, but she kept it slightly unzipped, showing off some of her cleavage.

Lux was already done showering, styling his hair (which was styled the way it was at the beginning of A Friend In Need), brushing his teeth, and shaving. He was all dressed up and ready to go ... except for his jacket, which he noticed that Ahsoka was wearing over her outfit, but unzipped.

The sleeves were too long for her, as her hands were no where to be seen.

She stood before him with a pouty look.

He arched one eye brow over the other as he looked at her.

"Do you have to go Luxie?" Ahsoka asked as sweetly and innocently as she could.

He smirked before walking up to her.

His hands went into the open jacket that she was wearing and coiled around her body, where they rested on her hips. She still looked up at him with a pouty look. He brought one of his hands up to hold her chin.

"Look. I know that you've been looking forward to spending time with me. I've wanted the same thing too. I was so worried about not being able to see you. But ... We still have our responsibilities to our colleagues. All I need from you is just a couple more hours and I promise you that I am all yours," Lux said.

Ahsoka's pouty look disappeared and turned into a smile.

She stood on her tippy toes, coiled her arms around Lux's neck, pushed her bust against his chest, and looked into Lux's eyes with their noses almost touching. "Alright," she said before she smashed her lips against Lux's. He pulled her in, with one hand on her hip and the other on her cheek. Their tongues began to explore each other's mouths. Ahsoka practically swallowed Lux's lips as she pulled him deeper into the kiss.

When Lux broke away from Ahsoka's lips, he went behind her and lifted the jacket off of her shoulders.

He threw it on and prepared to step out the door.

"I'll see you later, my little 'Soka," he said, using the nickname that Plo Koon used for her, which she told him about.

Ahsoka smiled, blushed, crossed her arms over her chest (smashing her jugs together and making them look like they'd plop out of her bodysuit), and gave him a little wave.

He smiled back at her and took off down the hall.

After grabbing a quick bite to eat, he ran outside to meet up with his colleagues, who were on a stage in front of several files of Clone Troopers from the 501st Legion, and their officers.

Mothma and some of her colleagues were deep in conversation.

Riyo saw Lux coming and flagged him down. He walked over.

"Good morning Senator. I take it you had a ' _pleasant_ ' night?" She asked, emphasizing the word 'pleasant'.

Lux gave her a blank stare. Then his cheeks turned pink when he figured out what she was implying.

 _Dear God! She must've heard me and Ahsoka last night_.

"Uhm, uh, Y-you ... you could say that," Lux said as they waited outside.

That's when they heard a clone officer shouting.

"ATTEN-SHUN!" He shouted out. The Clones all snapped to attention and a band began to play a patriotic Republic song, " _All Stars Burn As One_ ".

The Senators all stood still as a hologram of Chancellor Dalyell walked onto the stage in front of the Clones.

"Wait a minute, the Chancellor's here? Why?" Lux asked.

"He wanted to share the great news the 'heroes of the 501st Legion' personally," Riyo explained.

"What great news?" Lux asked.

"Shh," Riyo hushed him. "Watch".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Holonet news broadcast of Chancellor Dalyell's address to the Elite 501st Legion_.

 _"Brave warriors of the Grand Army of the Republic. I would like to congratulate you on your efforts in liberating this planet, who's proud history is rich with honor and glory. Because of you, millions of people are now breathing the fresh air of Liberty. And because of You, Darth Maul's reign of terror and destruction was halted in its tracks."_

The assembled troopers clapped in response to Dalyell's speech.

 _"We are also gathered here today to recognize the great achievements made by members of this distinguished unit. For Bravery, self-sacrifice, and for voluntarily going above and beyond the Call of Duty, I would like to nominate Commander Ahsoka Tano with the Cross of Glory, which is the highest reward obtainable within the ranks of the Grand Army"._

Everyone cheered.

 _"And it because of your honorable service to the Republic, I believe that it is high time that members of the Clone Army be given the right to settle on whatever planet each individual chooses. I believe that you have earned the right to vote in the free elections of the Republic that you have served without question. And it is time that you be provided with wages for your service"._

Every offer Dalyell made, made the clones cheer.

The Chancellor waited for them to stop before he continued.

 _"I have also come here today, to announce the greatest piece of news that we've received since the beginning of this war,"_ the chancellor said before he paused. _"At 0630 hours this morning, I have received word from the Confederate Premier, Bec Lewise, that the Confederacy of Independent Systems are requesting that peace talks be held on the planet Raxus, and discuss unconditional surrender."_

This got the loudest cheer of all. Everyone clapped, cheered, and whistled in response to Dalyell's announcement.

But then he raised his hand, and prompted everyone to settle down.

 _"However, much remains to be done. Yes, the CIS are surrendering. But the hard part is yet to come. We, the Senate, the Military, and the People of the Republic, must all work together to ensure that Freedom and Prosperity may once again reign supreme over a peaceful Galaxy. Alright, I have to leave now to attend a meeting in the senate. Thank you for your time, God bless you, and may your service to liberty loving people across the galaxy always be remembered by future generations"._

Dalyell's hologram disappeared in the presence of hundreds of cheering clones.

The assembled senators couldn't help but feel impressed. Dalyell may actually keep the Republic together and end the war at the same time.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Royal Palace, Sun'dari, Mandalore, events concurrent to the peace conference_.

With Lux at the ceremony, Ahsoka had to find a way to pass the time. So she decided to take a stroll around the palace. Ahsoka had breakfast with her troopers and then went to visit Rex in the infirmary.

The 501st Legion had a new General, who was on his way to Mandalore with the rest of the Elite division, and Yularen's fleet.

His name was Belth Allusis, a respected General. A polite and selfless individual, Master Allusis was a respected member of the Jedi Order and was liked by his peers for his sharp wit and sense of humor. He was also a well liked General, who cared deeply about his men. He would be the perfect candidate for filling the shoes left by Anakin Skywalker.

Rex also told her that Anakin would've been proud of her achievements on Mandalore. Everyone was taking it hard, but they would through it as a unit. If the clones were all brothers, then Ahsoka was the younger sister. And they were all mourning their father.

* * *

After a few hours of strolling the palace, she eventually went back to her room.

She meditated for a little, reciting the Grey Jedi Code here and there.

 _Flowing through all, there is balance._

 _There is no peace without a passion to create. There is no passion without peace to guide._

 _Knowledge stagnates without the strength to act. Power blinds without the serenity to see._

 _There is freedom in life. There is purpose in death_.

 _The Force is all things and I am the Force._

Gray Jedi basically walked the line between the dark and light sides of the force. Long ago, Leor Danal first came up with the Gray Jedi Code for the first time while in a Force Trance.

" _There must be both dark and light. I will do what I must to keep the balance, as the balance is what holds all life. There is no good without evil, but evil must not be allowed to flourish. There is passion, yet peace; serenity, yet emotion; chaos, yet order. I am a wielder of the flame; a champion of balance. I am a guardian of life. I am a Gray Jedi._ "

Ahsoka started following the ways of the Gray Jedi Order a few weeks ago, finding it to be more in line with how the galaxy works.

She continued to meditate for a while.

Then she started to think about her master.

A single tear went down her cheek. "I'm sorry Skyguy. I couldn't be there for you."

Then she went into the refresher.

When she was inside, Ahsoka brushed her teeth and took a shower. As she stood underneath the shower-head, allowing the warm water to flow down her beautiful curves, she pondered about what could've been, had she been by her master's side.

 _'Just like the old days'_.

* * *

After taking finishing her shower, and seeing Lux return from the ceremony, they decided to call it a night.

They both got their pajamas on and laid down in the bed.

Lux was wearing a gray shirt and blue pajama pants.

Ahsoka, on the other hand, was never afraid to show skin. She wore a cream colored pair of silk pajama pants, and a matching top. The top had long sleeves, but was very short. Most of her navel below her chest was exposed, and it had a v-neck that showed off her breasts, which the top hugged very nicely.

She snuggled in close to Lux.

Their was a tray of dirty dishes on a table at the front of the room from when they ordered room service.

The holo-monitor was on as well. The two of them had been watching holo-vids for a little while.

As they lied down, Lux began to stroke Ahsoka's montrals very tenderly. Shivers went up Ahsoka's spine, as Lux's actions triggered the memory of how he pleasured her last night. The erotic memory caused her to arch her back and push her clothed bust even harder against Lux's.

She smiled and her Lekku began to purr in response to Lux's touch, before she snuggled her head into Lux's neck. She then propped herself up with her elbows and leaned in. She gave him a peck on the lips before she started planting kisses all over Lux's face, leaving behind some of her purple lipstick. She trailed her kisses down his jawline and neck before resting her head down on his pecks.

She shivered and giggled before pressing her lips against his again.

"So. How did the ceremony go?" Ahsoka asked as she gently rubbed Lux's smooth jawline with her fingertips.

"It went fine," Lux said, before his eyebrows flared up. "Oh, that reminds me..." Lux tried to say before Ahsoka's com-link went off, startling both of them.

"Uuucckkkhhh! Just once, can't I just catch a break?" Ahsoka said before she used the force to pull her com-link over. She pressed the button and saw that it was actually a message. "Hm, it's a message."

She pressed the button and read what it had to say.

' _All 501st units are to head for the Sun'dari docks immediately. We are going to be relieved by the 3rd legion, who will continue the occupation. We'll be leaving in an hour to rally over Concordia. There, we will be linking up with General Allusis and the rest of the 501st for a new mission,'_ the message read.

"What does it say?" Lux asked as he stroked her montrals with his knuckles.

She looked at Lux, who she was still laying atop of.

"The 501st is being relieved by another unit, and are being sent on a new mission," she said.

Ahsoka still had a military communicator. She didn't give it back yet, so she still got notifications from the Military. But she wasn't in the Army, at least officially, so she wasn't really obligated to serve the Republic. But still ... she was obligated to serve her men.

"Are you going with them? I thought you'd like to come with me to Raxus," Lux said as he ran his hands up and down her bare waist.

"Well Lux, the war's over, but it looks like the peacekeeping operations begin," she said.

"But do you have to go? I'm sure the Republic can do this without you. Besides, you haven't even been reinstated into the Army," Lux said as he sat up to hold her.

Ahsoka smiled and planted a kiss on his nose and scratched his hair.

"I know Lux, but ... I can't, in good faith, let the boys down," she said before she paused. "They'll need the moral support now that Skyguy's..." she paused before lowering her head, "...not around."

Lux looked up at her with a blank stare as he digested what Ahsoka said.

"I have to go now Luxie," Ahsoka said as she got up to change into her gray outfit.

When she was all packed up and at the door, Lux walked over to her.

He pulled her into his embrace and rested his chin on her shoulder. "I meant to tell you that at the conference, the Chancellor said that he was nominating you to receive the Cross of Glory." This caught Ahsoka off guard. "Promise me that you will come back to be receive it, and then come back home to me," Lux said.

Ahsoka returned the hug and scratched the back of his head. "I promise. And tell the Chancellor that I'm honored," she said.

"I will," he said.

Lux pressed her lips against hers. Ahsoka puckered her lips and deepened the kiss. She then pushed up against Lux's body, enjoying the warmth of his body heat permeating him. Lux sucked on Ahsoka's upper lips, while she sucked on his lower lip. Ahsoka moaned against his lips before breaking the kiss with a wet _smooshing_ sound. She smiled at him lovingly like she always did when they were around each other. He did so as well.

"I love you 'Soka. May the force be with you," he said.

She smiled. "I love you too Luxie."

She pecked his lips, picked up her bag, and walked out the door.

When she was outside of the palace, she hitched a ride on a speeder that was heading for the docks, where she then grabbed a Gunship that was heading back up to the fleet.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _RSV Indomitable, in orbit above Concordia Moon_.

Beth Allusis, the 501st Legion's new Jedi General, stood in front of several dozen clone troopers and officers. His speech was about to be broadcast across the fleet.

He had silver armor around his torso, and wore his black hair in a tight bun on the back of his head.

"Soldiers of the Clone Army, I understand what you have all been through these past few days. You have all lost comrades in the field of battle. You have lost many of your brave brothers in arms across multiple fronts. And most tragically, you have lost your commanding general. I cannot begin to fathom what you are all feeling right now, but I believe that he would want all of us to continue fighting for what's right. _but the people of the Republic, and his excellency Chancellor Tomas Dalyell, are all asking that you once again give your services over to the Republic for one final battle. This is it. This is the end. When this is all over, the Republic will finally be free from the fear of destruction that we have all felt for so long. Let us go into battle one last time to honor our fallen heroes_ ".

General Allusis was given a round of applause by the assembled troopers.

After a few minutes, the applauding died down.

"Now get yourselves sorted out. We arrive at Murkana in two hours. Dismissed," General Belth Allusis ordered.

The gathered troopers dispersed and went to different parts of the ship.

He began to walk away when he came face to face with Ahsoka Tano.

"Master Allusis," Ahsoka said before giving him a slight bow of respect.

"Miss Tano," Belth Allusis said. "I've heard a lot about you. You volunteered for that little slice of hell down there. That can't go unnoticed. I've also noticed that you've been nominated to receive the cross of glory. Congratulations," he complimented.

"Thank you, master," she said.

"Now, I don't know if you've decided to rejoin the army or not, but based on you being here, I'm guessing where you lean towards right now," he said. Ahsoka nodded. "But whatever you decide, I hope that you can join us in our mission to Murkhana. I could use a liaison that this Legion is familiar with".

Ahsoka nodded, knowing that Belth was hinting at his inexperience with this legion.

"I'll do it," she said.

They shook hands.

"Excellent. Alright, get settled. We're arriving in two hours," he said.

She saluted.

"Yes Master".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Raxus Secundus, Capital of the Confederacy of Independent Systems_.

High above the Separatist capital of Raxus, a task force of Republic warships jumped out of hyperspace, amidst the massive fleet of CIS warships that hung in orbit around the planet.

The ships were going to carry the delegation meant to go to Mandalore over to Raxus.

It was from here that the War would end.

Whatever happened in the next few hours, on this planet, would decide the fate of this conflict ... and the galaxy.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _The Works, Coruscant_.

Vader and Sidious were watching the monitors on a screen nearby.

The Holonet broadcast was talking about how the Confederacy was agreeing to an armistice after the deployment of the Hammer of Dawn.

"Master, if the Separatists are surrendering, then distracting the Jedi will become much more difficult."

"No. The Separatist parliament, and many of their worlds, may be surrendering, but the real architects of this war are still at large."

Vader was confused. But then he came to the realization of what his master was talking about.

"The Separatist War Council?"

"Yes, Viceroy Gunray and the other councilors still have control over many of the Separatist fleets, and the droid army. And they still have my resources that we can use to cut out the disease that has infested the Republic and the Galaxy," Sidious said as he activated a hologram of some object. The red and orange hologram resembled an eyeball.

Vader didn't know it yet, but it was one day going to be an instrument that his new master would use to rule the galaxy through total fear.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Senator Padme Amidala's apartment, Coruscant_.

A DC0052 Intergalactic Speeder pulls up to the veranda landing of Padme's apartment.

The cockpit of the sleek yellow Galactic Speeder opens, and a hooded figure emerges and walks onto the veranda. An alarm goes off deep in the apartment. The figure stops before a security curtain that protects the veranda. C-3PO enters the veranda and approaches the figure.

"Hello, might I help you . . . Oh, it's you, Master Kenobi. Come in, quickly," Threepio urged

The security curtain disappears, and the figure lifts his hood. It is indeed Obi-Wan. The alarm stops sounding.

"Has Anakin been here . . . ?" He asked.

"Yes . . . right after Palpatine's...suden removal."

Padme came down the stairs in a robe. Threepio decided that this was probably the best time to leave, which he did.

"Master Kenobi!" Padme exclaimed.

She embraced Obi-Wan.

"Obi-Wan, I glad to see you. After everything that has happened..." Padma started.

"The Republic is on the brink of collapse. Padme... The Jedi Order has ...been forced to take drastic measures," he said.

"I know, it's hard to believe everything to which we've dedicated our lives was nearly destroyed from within. Why did the Jedi overthrow the Chancellor?" she said.

"The Chancellor has been accused of treason, and he's on the run," Obi-Wan said. "I'm here looking for Anakin . . . When was the last time you saw him?" Obi-Wan asked, a little frantically.

She looked confused, and a little concerned.

"A couple days ago, but not recently," Padme lied.

Obi-Wan saw right through it. But he remained calm, not wanting to press her, and make her feel like he was being interrogated.

"And do you know where he is now?" He asked.

Padme looked down. She did know where he was, but she knew where his current loyalties were, and they weren't exactly with the Jedi Council's at the moment, if that was still the case.

"No," she ultimately said, untruthfully.

"Padme, I need your help. He's in over his head right now" Obi-Wan said.

"From what?" She asked.

"From himself," Obi-Wan said before he sits down. "...Padme ... Anakin - he's a fugitive." he said slowly, ever so slightly emphasizing each word.

Padme looked at him almost in shock.

"How is he a fugitive?" She asked.

"He helped the Chancellor escape from us. He's confused right now, and we need to bring him and ... work things out," Obi-Wan said. He was trying to be subtle. He wasn't revealing anything about the Sith. There was no way she would believe it now.

Truth be told, he was still having a hard time himself.

"Well, I'm sorry Obi-Wan. I don't know where he is now," she said. But he can't have gotten off of the planet with the blockade, could he?" She said, telling Obi-Wan a half-truth of what she knew.

"Probably not," Obi-Wan said before his com-link went off. He answered it. "Yes, Master Yoda?"

" _Obi-Wan, discovered Palpatine's hideout I have. Move quickly we must."_ Yoda said.

Wherever Palpatine was now, Anakin was probably close by, which is why Yoda contacted him in the first place.

"I'll be meet you there, Master," he said before turning off the com-link. He turned to Padme, who was at the balcony, looking out over the city. "I must leave senator. But if you see Anakin, I want you to contact me," he said.

She didn't turn to him. But she answered, "I will".

Obi-Wan turned to leave. But before he did, Padme turned and called out after him.

"Obi-Wan!" She called out. He turned to her while in the doorway. "Anakin is very confused right now. And with the Chancellor overthrown, he may see it as an unjust coup, and an attack on a close friend. So please, try to reason with him ... and promise that you will make sure he returns safely."

Obi-Wan looked at her, and he nodded.

"I will," he said before he turned back ad went out the door.

Then Padme looked back out over the city, just as tears began to flow out of her eyes and stream down her cheeks.

 _'Please Ani, be careful. I...'_ she placed her hand on her swollen belly _, '...we - need you to come home'._

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **there's part 25 for you folks. Hope you enjoyed.**

 **Review, Review, Review.**


	26. Chapter 26-The End is Near

**Hey folks, Grubkiller here.**

 **This is part 26 of my story, 'Fall of the Republic'.**

 **When you're done, please feel free to leave your thoughts done in the review section.**

 **xxxxx** **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant, the works, secret hideout for Darth Sidious_.

A squadron of Republic gunships, painted in all black, were taking Master Yoda and a spec ops unit of black-armored clone shadow troopers to the industrial district on Coruscant. They approached the building and circled around it.

"This is it. We've tracked Palpatine to this building," One trooper informed as he waved a scanner in the direction of the building in front of them. "What are your orders sir?"

Yoda studied the building with interest. But something felt wrong.

"Prepare yourselves," he said.

The clones all aimed their weapons at the building, and the gunships continued to fly around the building's outside.

Suddenly, several bangs echoed through the air. That's when several rockets were fired out of the building.

"Taking Evasive action!" The pilot shouted over the comm.

The gunships all tried to bank hard away from the missiles. But two of them were hit and began to spin out of the air. One crashed into the ground, while another one hit the side of the building and scraped against the side before hitting the ground.

More missiles were fired, but Yoda lifted his hand and all of the missiles suddenly froze in place. The clones watched with fascination as Yoda sent every missile straight back at the origins of the blasts. The missiles were flung at the building and exploded, causing the enemy fire to die down.

"Get inside we must," Yoda ordered.

"Pilot," the lead shadow trooper called out. "Blow open that hanger door".

The gunship turned to face the building before it fired a pair of missiles. They slammed into the side of the building and blew a hole open that was big enough for the gunships to land.

The clones off loaded and poured into the hanger. The black ops clones moved through the corridor. Yoda hobbled forward on his cane. That's when they all stacked up a door.

Commander Dury, the lead clone, ran up to it and ran his hand down the door. He tried to look for a door panel, but couldn't find one. He turned to the troopers.

He then pointed to his men. "Rivera, Lowe, breach that door," he ordered.

"Commencing door breach maneuver," one of them said. They both placed an explosive on the door and stepped back. The explosives detonated. The locking mechanism was off line, and the clones rushed through the door and into a dark room. Yoda followed.

Everyone filed into the room and fanned out before training their weapons on a shadowy hooded figure, who stood over a pedestal that had a hologram of a red sphere emitting from it.

The figure turned to the clones and the short Jedi in the room.

"It appears we have ... company," the figure said to no one in particular.

That's when several red lights blinked on line. As they moved closer to the figure, they heard servos whining and metal clanking. The troopers tensed up when they saw several commando droids rush out of the shadows, led by some red cloaked guards, who were armed with cylinders. That's when they activated them and showed that they were dual bladed red lightsabers.

"Take them," Dury ordered, and the clones rushed in and began firing, their blue bolts illuminating the room. Several droids went down. That's when the figure raised his hands and shot blue electricity out of them. Several clones screamed as they were enveloped and shocked by this new attack, and killed or knocked out by it.

Before the rest could move forward, they were attacked by the red guards. The clone troopers were hit hard by these new attackers, and chopped to pieces.

"We need back up over here, now!" Dury ordered. That's when several more clones rushed into the room. But six of them were special. They were clone assassins. They were trained specifically to deal with lightsaber and force yielders.

"I'm gonna evicerate you," one of them said before a cortosis blade extended from each of his wrists. The guards and clone assassins attacked each other, cutting each other down with their blades.

Yoda walked passed the carnage and up to a wounded clone that the shadow figure shocked earlier and placed his hand on his head, before shaking his own. Returned to the figure, who was still interested in the red holographic sphere.

"We meet at last, Darth Sidious," Yoda said as he hobbled over on his cane.

Darth Sidious deactivated the hologram of the red sphere and put it away in his cloak.

"You cannot stop what is to come," Sidious said before he ran off, out the carnage filled room.

Yoda chased after him.

He wasn't going to allow him to escape.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Murkhana City, Murkhana. Republic occupation zone_.

Murkhana. A planet owned by the Corporate Alliance.

A company that provided the CIS with droids, weapons, and even deadly chemical weapons that worked on old clone armor (and the new armor if it wasn't sealed properly).

Republic and Separatist forces were bogged down in trench warfare for months.

The frontline hadn't moved since the siege began.

During the Coruscant revolution, the CIS almost broke through during their last great offensive.

They even used their chemical weapons to dislodge the Republic.

But they didn't succeed. The Republic Navy came in and used the Hammer of Dawn on the CIS forts that made up the city's impregnable defenses.

Unfortunately, the CIS were also using chemical weapons from the beginning of the siege. The forts that the Republic destroyed actually stored the chemical stockpiles that the CIS controlled. It caused chemical residue to get everywhere. People died if they didn't have the proper breathing equipment.

Many didn't.

At the base that Ahsoka and the others landed at, there were refugees.

It's been a few hours since the Republic reinforcements from the 501st landed on Murkhana.

"Alright. I want this convoy to get moving. Ahsoka. I want you and Torrent Company to go and provide security. Go there, look for survivors and distribute the food, medicine and masks as best as you can," Belth Allusis said.

"Yes master," Ahsoka said as she headed for the convoy.

Appo, Jesse, Hardcase, Tup, and Kix were already at the front of the convoy to meet her.

She could even see Boomer and Kano's teams nearby.

"Alright boys. Time for us to get this convoy moving. Appo, call of the drivers and tell them to get moving in three minutes," Ahsoka ordered as she hopped onto an RTT viechle towards the center of the convoy.

"Yes ma'am," Appo said before he began giving hand signals to all of the drivers.

Moments later, the convoy got moving. RTTs (Republic troop transports) were packed the brim with supplies. AT-RTs marched forward, with TX-130 hover tanks.

They moved forward along a ridge that overlooked the city. This part of the city was a suburb that looks like it was untouched by the war.

"Finally. A place that hasn't been bombed yet," Tup said.

"Don't temp fate trooper," Appo said.

An alarm started beeping.

"Alright lads, we're coming up on a contaminated area. Seal your suits and put a mask on if you don't have one," the pilot of the RTT said.

Ahsoka put on a breathing mask and goggles, while her troopers sealed their suits, as they started to pass through a contaminated area.

"Hey, won't the chemicals affect the food supplies we have?" Tup asked.

"No. Those crates are sealed tight. No way those chemicals are getting through," Jesse said.

"Hey everyone. Listen to the news," the pilot said.

The Clones leaned over to listen.

" _You're listening to the Grand Army of the Republic broadcast, the voice of the outer rim. The Chancellor spoke today at a press conference, confirming that the CIS has agreed to the terms of the peace treaty. The War will be officially over by 1000 hours GST,_ " the host of the show said.

"You hear that? Ha HA! The war's over," Hardcase shouted.

Everyone cheered.

Ahsoka smiled as her men cheered.

"Three years. My God it's finally over," Kix said.

"Looks like Skywalker's mission to Aspho Fields payed off after all. He's still looking out for us," Jesse said. **(Read my story, Clones of War: Aspho Fields, for more info).**

Ahsoka smiled at that comment.

"Yeah. Getting the Navy to blast those clankers right back into the stone age," Hardcase laughed.

Suddenly, they heard an explosion. "AH Shit!" The pilot exclaimed, before the RTT ground to a halt, nearly throwing the passengers out of their seats.

Ahsoka could hear more explosions outside.

"Gunner! What do you see out there?" Ahsoka asked.

"We're taking fire from the city," the gunner said before he opened fire with the transports roof turret.

Ahsoka turned towards everyone in the passenger bay.

"I want everyone ready to bang out in ten," she said as she grabbed her sabers from her belt.

The clones grabbed their weapons and got ready for action.

Appo prepared to hit a button on the transport's hatch.

He looked at Ahsoka as explosions and blaster fire went off outside.

She nodded.

Appo slammed his fist against the button and the hatch opened.

Ahsoka, wearing a breathing mask and goggles, jumped out and was immediately met by enemy blaster fire coming from the city.

She placed her sabers in front of her body and began deflecting every blaster bolt that came her way.

Her troopers spilled out of the transport, and took cover.

Apparently, the forward vehicle was blasted.

So was the rear vehicle.

The convoy was boxed in.

Separatist fire was pouring down on the ridge. Republic troopers, hover tanks, and walkers fired back.

"Damn! Will somebody tell 'em that they surrendered?" One clone shouted.

"What the hell!? Why are they still fighting?" Tup asked.

"If we were in their position ... wouldn't we?" Jesse asked.

"But don't they know that they gave up, and that we can destroy them?" Kix asked.

"They must think that it's propaganda," Jesse said as they all returned fire.

"It better not be!" Hardcase shouted as he brought his rotary gun to bare.

"Cut the chatter and return fire," Ahsoka ordered as she continued to swing her blades and expertly deflect the oncoming firepower. "Master Allusis' been informed. He's gonna try and raise their CO, and get 'em to stop firing".

As the fighting continued, hundreds of battle droids could be seen marching up the slope that led up to the ridge.

Several more Republic viechles exploded.

It was starting to get desperate.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Outside of the Works_.

Outside of Sidious' hideout, two rows of AT-TE's were marching towards the tower. Explosions were rocking the building, as the Republic fired their main guns into the building, targeting muzzle flashes that dotted the face of the building.

Smoke and fire poured out of the holes that the tanks created.

The 6 AT-TE's were surrounded by clones, who were being led by a dark-skinned Jedi with a purple lightsaber. Mace Windu expertly deflected any laser bolt that flew his way, while gracefully deflecting them back into the troopers that fired them.

"Keep up the pressure! If we pull this off, them we can ensure peace for the Republic, once and for all," Windu shouted.

One of the clone officers turned back to face the troopers, before he looked at the building and pointed his arm towards it.

"FORWARD MEN!"

The Republic forces continued to advance.

But just as they were about to breech the building's outer defenses, a mysterious figure wearing a dark cloak jumped out of no where. He landed in front of the two AT-TE columns. he then raised his hands and used the power of the force to make two fallen columns to fly into the front windows of the two front tanks. The tanks were gutted and then collapsed to the ground.

On closer inspection, Mace saw a small scar underneath the figure's cloak.

"Skywalker," he said. He turned to his men. "Press the attack on the complex. I'll deal with him," he said to his nodding troopers before he charged.

Vader saw Windu coming and prepared for a duel. Anakin's blue blade activated with a snap-hiss before clashing with Mace Windu's. Both men stared at each other as their purple and blue blades were locked lightly.

"What are you doing here?"

"Pursuing a traitor to the Republic. Letting him live is too dangerous." Windu said before he withdrew his blade and took a couple free swipes at Anakin, who merely blocked the jabs, which caused white sparks of energy to fly everywhere.

They circled each other. The battle still raged around them, as clones ran passed them to attack the _Works_.

"Letting you kill Palpatine in cold blood was against our Jedi beliefs..." Vader said, causing Windu to give him a puzzled, boadering on amused, look, "I couldn't allow it," Vader said before he raised his blade over his head and lunged at Windu.

They were both caught in a another saber-lock.

"Anakin," Windu said as he pushed his blade down as hard as he could, forcing Anakin to lean back. As Windu got closer into Anakin's face, with their blades between them, he tried to speak again. "...Come to your senses".

But Vader wasn't having any of it. He channeled the power of the force through his arms and pushed back against Windu, breaking the saber lock and sending Windu flying back onto the floor several feet away.

As Windu struggled to get back up, he felt an invisible energy take hold of him. He was lifted into the air, and Anakin walked closer. He then used the force to make him fly about 50 more feet away. He hit the ground and tumbled back end over end until he was face down in the metal ground.

A few seconds after Windu landed, he got back up... just in time to see Vader walking towards him and assuming a fighting stance.

Mace Windu looked at Anakin with a stern look and raised his purple blade in front of himself. Storm clouds were gathering behind him, releasing several streaks of lighting in the background.

"So be it".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _The Works, Sidious' hideout_.

Sidious ran out of the building onto a skinny catwalk that connected to a different building. The industrialization in the area caused the sky to glow a menacing crimson color, with dark clouds that also glowed red.

Behind Sidious, Master Yoda was hot on his heels.

In order to rid himself of the Jedi pest that followed him, Sidious turned around and back up towards an array of antennae that jutted out from the center of the catwalk.

He summoned a lightsaber from his sleeve, and ignited it. He assumed a threatening, and menacing, stance and pointed his blade down at the Jedi Master that followed him, while raising his other hand, ready to use it to summon the power of the force in his fingertips.

Yoda pulled his robe back slightly, and used the force to summon his shoto lightsaber into his hand. He activated it and waved it around himself before pointing it at Sidious.

The two combatants stared each other down, not moving for several heartbeats. But then, Yoda shot up from the ground and somersaulted in the air several times, throwing off Sidious' concentration. But when he jumped up again, this time when he came back down, he began to class with the powerful Lord of the Sith.

Yoda jumped and spun around, striking at Sidious with his sword. Being much taller, Sidious was forced to keep low in order to keep the short Jedi master from getting underneath his defenses. But then, Yoda would jump up and attack from above, forcing Sidious to change the direction from which he had to defend himself. This made Yoda unpredictable, and forced Sidious to stay on the defensive. He then began to walk back along the catwalk, and slowly move around the antennae, while parrying Yoda's rapid strikes.

Yoda began to somersault over the Sith lord, throwing off Sidious. When Yoda landed, he summoned a powerful force push that sent Darth Sidious sliding back about twenty feet away. Yoda was about to take full advantage of this opening and charge at Sidious. But then, a voice called out from behind him.

"General Yoda!"

The clones rushed in and aimed their weapons at the Sith Lord, waiting for the signal to apprehend him.

Other clones took up positions on the adjacent catwalks to surround Sidious.

Sidious lashed out with his saber, trying to probe the Jedi's defenses. But Yoda parried the Dark Lord's thrusts. When Sidious was forced to stop attacking, Yoda used this opportunity to use the force and push the sith lord back. Sidious slid back across the catwalk.

That's when Dury and a couple clones rushed in and moved in to apprehend Sidious.

Yoda raised his hand. "NO!"

The Dark Lord raised his hands, and Dury, along with several clones, floated off of the ground. They began to groan and cough as Sidious choked the life out of him. He then shot arcs of force lightning from his fingertips, hitting the clones. One arc hit Yoda, who tried to block with his saber, but the force of the blast forced the saber out of his hands.

Sidious then threw them away like a rag dolls. Most of the clones plummeted to their deaths, but three clones, Dury, Rivera, and Lowe, landed on the catwalk behind Yoda, still unconscious as far as he could tell.

That's when the clones all opened fire on Sidious. But he expertly deflected their rounds, some shooting back into the clones that fired them, causing them to fall over the railings and plunge to their deaths. Yoda looked back at them.

But then another arc of lightning was aimed at him. Instead of summoning his saber to defend himself, he raised his hands and began to contain the lightning within balls of energy that formed in his hands.

Both Sidious and Yoda inched closer to each other. Lightning was still shooting out of the Sith Lord's hands, and Yoda continued to contain the incredible amounts of energy within the palms of his hands.

Sidious leaned over and stood right above yoda, hoping that by getting closer, he would blast him off of the catwalk, just like the clones earlier. But suddenly, Yoda pushed back with all of his might, and the energy became too much for Sidious. Their closeness caused a burst of energy that sent both opponents apart. Yoda hit the railing, but Sidious flipped back over the railing and fell.

When the lightning stopped firing, thunder began to clap in the distance.

Yoda rushed up to the side that Sidious fell over and looked down to see where he went. he didn't see anything on the catwalk below. And the only thing he saw below that was the smog that was emitted from the factories on this part of Coruscant.

It was quiet. The only sound the Jedi could hear was the gentle gust of wind that flew around the catwalks out here.

Then suddenly, he heard a saber ignite, and out the corner of his eye, he saw a a red lightsaber blade plunging through the cat walk from underneath. He then heard a menacing chuckle. It was Sidious, who was using his red blade to slice through the supports beneath the catwalk.

The section that Yoda and the unconscious clones occupied began to wobble and creak.

 _'Not good this is'_.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Outside of the Works_.

Back down on the surface, as clones continued to fight a vicious battle for control of Sidious' hideout, Mace and Anakin continued to fight back and forth to gain the underhand in this fight.

Despite what the fight looked like, Windu was actually taking it easy on Anakin, trying to reason with him.

As they were locked into another saber lock, Windu tried again.

"He's manipulating you, making you betray the Jedi Order. Can't you see that?"

"All I saw was a Jedi trying to assassinate a politician, and a good man. You're the one that's betraying the Republic!"

Anakin then kicked Windu away, breaking the saber lock. He then began to viciously attack Windu, using every piece of knowledge that he could scrounge up concerning Form V of lightsaber combat, trying to break Windu's strong, yet passive, defenses.

As Windu parried Anakin's strikes, he continued to try and get inside Anakin's head.

"You have been tainted by the Dark Side."

"No!"

"And you have failed the Jedi Order."

"NO!" Anakin said as he used the force to push Mace back.

The dark skinned Jedi fell onto his back and slid across the ground. He looked up just in time to see Anakin standing over him, ready to deliver the killing blow. One that would not happen as far as Windu was concerned. He sound his legs at Anakin's ankles, knocking him onto his back.

Mace turned away and looked off in the distance. He could see a green lightsaber and a red one clashing on top of a series of catwalks that jutted out of the building.

He began to weigh his options. ' _If I can help Yoda kill Palpatine, we can break his hold over Skywalker'_.

As he was thinking this, he could see Anakin charging at him out of the corner of his eye. Without even turning, Windu raised his hand and used the force to push Anakin away from him, stating him away like a bug.

He then began to force dash in the direction of Yoda and Sidious.

 _'Your rain of evil ends now, Sidious.'_

But before Windu could get to far, he was frozen in place by an invisible force. He then flew back, and saw that he was heading straight towards Anakin, who had his blade thrust forward, ready to skewer him.

Not allowing that to happen, Mace clapped his hands and used the force to push Anakin back away from him.

Windu then landed on the ground, ready to resume the fight.

"Alright Skywalker, if you want to become a more powerful force weirder, then watch closely," Windu said before he lunged back into battle against the fallen Jedi.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _The Works, Sidious' hideout, Coruscant_.

Darth Sidious jumped on another catwalk, while Yoda struggled to maintain his balance. He looked around for his saber, summoned it with the force, and then turned back to jump onto the section of catwalk that Sidious occupied.

He assumed a fighting stance and pointed his blade at Sidious. But then he heard a metallic creaking sound behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw the other catwalk start to give way. As it lowered, the three unconscious clones began to slide off of the catwalk.

Yoda turned around and deactivated his lightsaber. He raised both hands and began to summon the power of the force, concentrating on the three clones. Just as they began to slip off of the section of catwalk, they began to levitate in the air.

Sidious cracked a demonic smile and inched closer to Yoda.

"Save them, Jedi," he said mockingly. "Can you save them?" He asked before he fired an arc of lightning at Yoda.

Yoda reactivated his saber and used it to block the lightning. Because of this, he nearly dropped the three unconscious bodies. The catwalk broke free and nearly fell to the surface below.

But it didn't.

Instead, it floated in the air with the three clones still on it. But then he lost his grip, nearly dropping all of them. But then he just focused on the three clones, who floated in mid air, while the catwalk section fell to the surface below, and smashed into hundreds of pieces.

The catwalk that Yoda and Sidious were on began to wobble as well, causing Yoda to stagger. Sidious fired another arc of lightning at Yoda, who raised his saber to block it, making his green sword crackle with blue energy. He was now struggling to save the clones, defend himself, and keep himself from falling.

The catwalk wobbled again, causing Yoda and Sidious to both stagger. Sidious frowned and fired another arc of lightning. Yoda blocked it again, and nearly dropped all three clones.

The catwalk wobbled again, and creaked under the strain of the extra weight.

Sidious staggered, but then he caught himself on the railing. "Why not let them go? Let them die. It's what they were born to do after all, and you can stop all that I will do," the Sith Lord said, tempting the much older Jedi.

He then fired another arc of lightning at Yoda, which Yoda blocked. But this was when the catwalk section began to swing from side to side, causing Yoda to stagger again.

"No," Yoda said as he regained his balance, and pointed his saber at Sidious. "The future is not yours, yet".

Sidious clenched his teeth in frustration.

Yoda continued speaking. "Tempted I will not be. Sacrifice all I am ready to do," Yoda said before he deactivated his lightsaber, grabbed a hold of the railing, and focused all of his efforts on saving the three clones. Sidious took advantage of Yoda lowering his guard and fired an arc of lightning that engulfed the Jedi master in terrible pain.

But he kept focusing on the clones, despite the pain. He eventually floated them over to another catwalk. He lowered them to safety.

Sidious continued to cackle and fire lightning. But that's when the catwalk shuddered beneath again, and this time it finally gave way. It fell and swung precariously over the sheer drop. Sidious and Yoda scrambled to grab a hold of something. They saved themselves and hang from the vertically hanging catwalk.

That's when explosions began to go off in the distance, obtaining Yoda and Sidious' attention. Republic forces were attacking the works, battling the Separatist droids that protected the building. Gunships flew towards the building, while infantry and tanks advanced on foot. Red laser were fired from the building and down onto the Republic forces that advanced in the distance.

Sidious growled and began to climb up the catwalk.

But Yoda wasn't done with him yet. He climbed onto the catwalk so that his feet were on the catwalk. Then he reached for his lightsaber and activated. He then reached back and then launched his saber like a boomerang. It spun like a propellor and flew over Sidious. It then struck where the catwalk was hanging from. The catwalk began to break free, and Sidious began to slide down the falling catwalk. Yoda let go of the catwalk and went into free fall. Sidious soon followed. They both began to fall to the surface.

As they began to free fall head-first towards the surface, they met face to face and began to continue their fight. They struggled and swiped at each other, trying to subdue the other.

Sidious was cackling the entire way down.

He then fired another bolt of lightning at Yoda, who used his hands to absorb it. And since they were too close, the build up of energy burst, and sent both fighters in different directions.

Yoda continued to fall, but he prepared to land. All the while, he could only think about how he failed to stop Sidious.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _CIS positions, Murkhana City, Murkhana_.

" _Major. I am giving you my honest word,_ " Jedi General Belth Allusis said over the com-link.

As Battle droids continued to march, mortar bombs continued to fall on the ridge. The Republic convoy was fighting back. But it wouldn't last long.

"Nice try Jedi _sleemo_ , but Deschenko would never surrender!" The CIS officer said defiantly.

" _The situation's changed. Call your CO. Call your HQ. Stop this madness, or it will never stop,_ " Allusis said.

* * *

 _Ridge overlooking Murkhana City_.

Ahsoka and her men continued to fight off the droids.

They fell in droves. But her men were running low on ammo. And the viechles were still taking heavy fire.

Mortars continued to crash down on the convoy.

When Ahsoka was about to be overrun, she force jumped away from the ridge, just as droids began to climb over the threshold of the cliff.

The last of the convoy's viechles were still firing on the advancing droids.

Appo and his men were taking cover in viechles, on top of viechles, or behind them.

He saw one clone get hit in the helmet. Normally, he'd have been fine, as it was just a graze.

However, his filter system was damaged. The deadly chemical residue that was scattered across the ground was entering his body with every breath.

"NOOO!" He yelled out before he started coughing. He coughed and gagged so hard that he doubled over and started rolling around on the ground as he choked to death.

The terrified face behind Appo's helmet disappeared as the newly promoted Clone Lieutenant growled in anger.

"Fix Bayonets and drive them down the slope!" He ordered.

Every clone pressed a button on their different DC-15 rifles, activating a small laser blade.

"Attack!" Appo ordered, and every clone that was in cover, charged at the wave of battle droids.

Blue laser bolts pierced through the chest plates of the B1 units.

Ahsoka used her blades to chop up any droids that got to close. Limbs were chopped off and heads went flying.

More and more droids continued up the slope.

But the clones all joined Ahsoka. They lined up along the ridge and fired down on the advancing droids.

Mortars continued to fall down on the ridge.

Half of the viechles in the convoy were destroyed.

That's when several AT-TEs stomped past the burning wreckages and held their position behind Ahsoka's men.

Master Allusis was with them, wearing a mask and goggles like Ahsoka to protect him from the harmful chemicals.

Torrent Company cheered as more of their brothers joined the fight.

They fired down on the CIS defenders in the city.

Fire was continually exchanged.

"Nice of you to join us master," Ahsoka said.

"And good to see that you've held out this long. Nice work," he said.

"So what now?" She asked as they both continued to deflect laser bolts.

When Ahsoka asked that question, enemy fire coming from the city ceased, and every droid shut down and went to standby mode.

They sat their like statues with their heads pointed down.

Blue laser bolts knocked down several more droids until Allusis held up his fist and barked orders.

"Cease Fire! Cut it out! Cease fire!" He shouted. The clones did as he said.

They all watched the sea of statues on the slope. And the only thing they heard was the gust of the wind.

"Sir. I have the Separatist's CO on the line. He wants to surrender his forces," a clone with a set of communications gear said.

Everyone was surprised.

Then, Appo zoomed in with his visor, to scan the area. He could see a humanoid figure holding a white sheet. The universal surrender sign.

"It's over. It's finally over," Ahsoka said as Clones moved in the secure the area, and set up a base.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _The Works, Darth Sidious' secret hideout, Coruscant_.

Palpatine and the Grand Inquisitor were overlooking the battle that was taking place around the base of the works. As the building was being overrun by clones, more Sith troopers and droids continued to search for Yoda.

A Spaarti-clone stormtrooper rushed up to the the two darksiders to report on the situation.

"My lord, the Grand Army is hitting us hard. They'll overrun the works! We have to retrea-guh!-AACK" The Stormtrooper commander tried to say before he was lifted up into the air by an invisible force, which began to choke him.

The Inquisitor was choking him with the force, much to Palpatine's delight. The trooper's neck twisted, collapsed, and cracked until he died. "You will do no such thing. Keep them out of the building for as long as possible. Destroy anything that the Republic might use!" The Grand Inquisitor ordered.

"Yes Sir!" They all said at the same time before rushing to their positions.

Palpatine leaned in to speak to the Inquisitor. "Prepare my shuttle for immediate takeoff. And then take another one to the Mustafar system. Find Lord Vader and bring him to the Byss system." he ordered.

"Yes, Master," the Grand Inquisitor said. He walked away to fulfill Palpatine's orders, while Palpatine watched the battle continue to unfold around his former hideout.

 _'It's time to leave'._

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant, the Works, outside Sidious' hideout_.

Mace continued to fight Anakin. It was at this point that Anakin realized that he had his work cut out for him. Mace Windu, being a master of form VII lightsaber combat, Vaapad, and his use of the Shadderpoint technique allowed Mace to do more than just hold his own against the so-called Chosen One.

But he kept fighting, because he knew that if he hesitated for even a second, he would die. Failure was not an option, because failure meant that he would never be able to save his wife from all that he feared.

But before he could resume the fight, a loud buzzing noise could be heard, and the clouds of industrial smoke and water vapor, that emitted from the pipelines and factories around them, began to glow brightly, almost blindingly. That's when a trio of gunships flew out of no where and trained their weapons on Anakin.

They both then saw clone shadow troopers from Republic Special Forces rappelling down from their open hatches, or coming from other facilities that surrounded the duel. The clones began to man several different spots to train their weapons on the Fallen Jedi that threatened Mace Windu. Mace jumped back and placed himself in front of the clones.

"Anakin, drop your weapon and stand down!" A familiar voice ordered over a loud speaker.

He knew who it was. It was Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"It's over, Skywalker," Mace said.

Anakin, without saying a word, merely pointed his sword at the clones. Then he assumed a defensive stance.

"OPEN FIIIRRRRRE!" The lead clone shouted to his men.

With unmatched discipline and calmness, the clones cut loose with everything they had. Blue lasers, that clashed with the black and gray environment, flew in Anakin's direction. He began to deflect every shot that was being fired at him. The clones fired repeating blasters, sniper blasts, and rockets. But everything just seemed to bounce off of the invisible barrier that surrounded Anakin. Several clones screamed as they were taken down by their own firepower.

The rockets were all redirected by Anakin's force abilities and up at the gunships. The gunships all took evasive action, but one missile flew passed two gunships and struck the third one in the wing. It was cleaved off, causing the gunship to lose stability before crashing down into the pipelines below

The two remaining gunships began circling his position, their side-mounted door guns chattering.

"Keep her steady pilot," one clone said while firing the gun. A few clone passengers on board pointed their rifles out the side hatch in order to assist their comrade. Anakin was now being attacked from three directions. He began to turned swiftly and expertly swing his blade in such a way didn't allow a single laser blast to get passed his defenses.

He then summoned a powerful force push in the direction of the clone shadow troopers on the ground, who were still firing on Anakin from all around. They all grunted as the invisible blast caused them to hit the deck.

Obi-Wan jumped dow from on of the gunships and stood next to Mace. He saw Anakin trying to fight off the gunships that were still attacking him. He saw him lift his hands, and he used the force to hold both gunships in place, while they still fired at him, more desperately now.

One blaster bolts hit Anakin in his mechanical wrist. He shouted in pain and lowered his sword as he grabbed his hand. The distraction forced him to let go of both gunships. Anakin screamed and held his hand. He tried to recover, but Obi-Wan summoned a powerful force push that sent Anakin flying into one of the large pipelines behind him. He hit one and dropped to the deck.

He struggled to get back up, and looked up just in time to see Obi-Wan pick up Anakin's blade with the force and activate it, giving him a second blade.

Mace Windu stood beside him, while the clones got back up and inched forward, surrounding Anakin from the different spires.

Anakin growled.

But Obi-Wan just looked at him. He lowered one blade, but pointed the other at Anakin.

"Anakin... please, come back to the light. Face up to what you've done. We can help you".

Anakin looked around and saw that he was in a precarious situation. But failure here would mean failure for everything his master had spent years plotting. It might also mean that he'd never be able to see his wife, or his children again.

He bared his teeth and snarled. "It's too late for that now. You're too late. You only want to help yourselves".

Obi-Wan shook his head. "You know that's not true."

"Arrest him," Mace ordered.

The lead shadow trooper, while aiming his rifle at the fallen Jedi, gave a hand signal to his men. They all nodded, and advanced.

Anakin took a defensive stance, even with a damaged hand and no blade, he was still a deadly foe.

As The Jedi and the clones continued to advance, something extremely unexpected happened.

A pair of missiles flew out of no where and slammed into the two remaining gunships. They both exploded in a ball of fire before their burning, skeletal remains plummeted to the pipes below.

Everyone looked up to see where they came from.

Nothing.

That's when they saw something shimmering in the distance, and a shuttle suddenly materialized out of no where. It was soon followed by four star-fighters that started firing before they even de-cloaked. The clones all turned to face the fighters. They opened fire, their blue lasers flying up towards the oncoming fighters. They strafed the deck of the facility, killing several more clones. They then flew off and tried to circle back. But the shadow trooper's came prepared.

A trio of clone gunners grabbed tubes off of their back and unfolded them into rocket launchers. They aimed at the fighters in the sky.

"Take 'em down!" One clone trooper ordered.

The clone gunners fired their launchers, and three rockets flew up at the fighters. Two of the fighters were shot down, but the third rocket missed. The two remaining fighters doubled back and began to strafe the area again. But the clones were out of rockets, so they settled with using small arms fire.

That's when the unknown shuttle landed and unloaded a squad of black armored troopers. They charged at the Shadow Troopers, and an all out brawl ensued. Clone and Unknown troopers shot, beat, and slashed each other.

Obi-Wan and Windu looked around at the chaos. They were confused. But then they refocused on Anakin, who was about to board the shuttle. They charged, ready to apprehend Anakin and destroy the unknown shuttle.

Noticing the danger the two Jedi posed, Anakin turned back to face them. "We'll meet again, my old friend," Anakin said before he used his flesh hand to summon a force push that sent the Jedi flying backwards. Obi-Wan dropped Anakin's lightsaber, which Anakin summoned with the force before placing it back on his belt. Then he used his hand to focus on the battle debris around him. With all of his might, he lifted as much burning debris as possible, and launched it at his enemies.

Obi-Wan and Mace recovered and used the force to stop the wall of flaming metal bits that Anakin summoned. The Shadow Troopers, who stood triumphantly over the corpses of the unknown troopers, stared in awe at the wall of debris that the jedi held back.

"Incredible," one clone said as he shook his head in disbelief.

"Quiet rookie," the lead clone ordered.

They all watched the two Jedi masters do what they were doing. They then released their grip, causing the debris wall to fall onto the ground.

Obi-Wan and Mace looked up just in time to see the shuttle Anakin was boarding take off and fly away.

Obi-Wan shook his head, realizing that they've failed.

* * *

"Who are you?" Vader asked, as a medical droid worked on his damaged prosthetic.

"I am the Grand Inquisitor. Lord Sidious sent me to collect you," he said.

"Where are you taking me? Will Padme be there?" Vader asked.

"I am taking you to our Master's secret base. All of your questions will be-AACK," The inquisitor began to answer before Vader raised his metal hand to summon the force, and lifted him up and began to choke him, all while he used his flesh hand to summon his lightsaber, the blue blade coming to life with a _snap-hiss_. The black armored troopers that were in the passenger bay with them activated their weapons and trained them on Vader.

"You will answer my questions right now if you know what's good for you," Vader threatened.

"GAH! If you kill me before we get to our destination, then none of your questions will be answered, and you'll be killed," the inquisitor shot back, while still being choked.

Vader looked at him for a few seconds. But then he let him go. The inquisitor dropped to the deck with a clang, and the troops lowered their blasters. "Fine. Take us to our destination," Vader ordered.

The inquisitor breathed in heavily, and coughed several times. Then he got up and turned to one of the troopers. "Tell the pilot to set coarse for the Byss system."

The trooper nodded and disappeared into the cockpit.

The inquisitor turned to face Vader, who sat back down and continued to have his severed mechanical limb worked on.

'Interesting,' he thought to himself.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Ahsoka Tano's personal quarters, Republic military base, Murkhana City spaceport_.

" _They what_? _Please tell me that you're okay!_ " A holo-screen image of Lux said to Ahsoka, who was talking to him in her quarters.

Ahsoka was telling him about the misunderstanding between the Republic and the Separatist garrison on Murkhana.

Needless to say he was terrified that his girlfriend had just finished dodging laser bolts in the middle of a cloud of deadly chemicals.

"I fine Lux. They thought that the Hammer strikes were just edited propaganda videos. So they ignored us," Ahsoka said.

" _And they thought we were still at War?_ " Lux asked. He leaned his head back in deep thought, shaking his head back and forth.

"Misunderstanding of the century. Anyway, we're still passing out food and medicine, helping to get the power back on, and we're taking dow enemy insurgents. But sense the Droid army's been shut down by the Raxus Government, that won't be too hard" Ahsoka said. "So anyway, tell me about the peace talks. How are they going".

" _Pretty good considering how we threatened to destroy their cities. They've agreed to an occupation, but they wanted as much representation in the senate as possible, along with limited autonomy. They're good terms considering how Palpatine wanted to punish them originally, until Dalyell softened the terms_ ," Lux said. " _The negotiations are pretty much almost over_ ".

"Well at least the fighting's almost over, for the most part," Ahsoka said.

Lux nodded

" _So when will you be back_?" He asked.

Ahsoka shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know. If I want to leave I'd have to ask for permission. But I don't know if they'll give it to me when we're setting up an occupation force," Ahsoka said.

Lux thought about it for a few seconds before coming up with a suggestion. " _Why don't you just volunteer to be our escort back to Coruscant_?"

Ahsoka's eyes flared to life as soon as she registered what Lux just said.

"That might be a good idea. Nice work Luxie," Ahsoka said.

 _"I try,_ " Lux said.

They smiled at each other.

Their moment was interrupted when Ahsoka's com-link started chirping.

"Well I'm gonna go and put in my request," Ahsoka said.

 _"Very well. I won't keep you from your job milady. Just be careful is all I ask,_ " Lux said all formally. " _I love you 'Soka_ ".

Ahsoka smiled before she kissed the screen Lux was on. "Love you too".

They smiled at each other before the transmission was cut.

* * *

Ahsoka went to go get permission from Master Allusis to leave, before she grabbed her old droid (R7-A7), a V-wing, and a hyperspace ring, and flew into hyperspace in the direction of the Raxus system, where the end of the war was taking place.

Though, it remained to be seen whether the end would be written in stone or in sand.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant_.

Back at the works, Republic forces began to secure the building.

The building was surrounded and taken over by the Republic. But unfortunately, the defenders fought to the last man, meaning the Republic had to fight for every room, hallway, and floor. Everything they found that could've been useful was destroyed. Information, technology, computers, all gone. Sidious wanted to cover his tracks, and he did that and more.

Mace Windu and Obi-Wan Kenobi went into the building, walking passed the definite signs of battle that scarred this building's interior. But there was no sign of Master Yoda except for a short lightsaber hilt. There was no sign of the traitor either.

"General! Two unidentified shuttles are heading for orbit," One of the Shadow Troopers said.

"Blast! He got away," Windu exclaimed. "Alright everyone, spread out and secure the building. Interrogate the prisoners and find out where Master Yoda is!"

Everyone nodded and did as they were told.

That's when a small green creature jumped down from the ceiling.

"Master Yoda! What happened?" Windu asked as the other Jedi gathered around him.

"Into exile Sidious has gone. Failed we have," Yoda said.

Everyone watched as the shuttles continued its ascent.

That's when they disappeared. They were stealth ships.

"Well so much for ordering our fighters to pursue," Obi-Wan said.

No one said anything. There was nothing to say.

Because she was right.

The Sith Lord was long gone, and would only reveal himself when _he_ wanted to.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Bonteri estate, Raxus Secundus_.

High up in the mountains outside of the Confederate Capital, stood a large gray mansion, which towered above a steep cliff. It had a large landing pad situated beneath it, with a Consular class corvette parked on it.

In the back of the mansion, was a wide open yard. Trees with autumn colored leaves lined the perimeter of the grassy yard, which was all well maintained, even with the absence of its late owners.

Lux Bonteri, the sole heir to all of House Bonteri's properties,sat on the stone railing of a flight of stairs. He wanted to get away from the Senators that he allowed into his home for the duration of the peace talks. Now, he was out here, looking out of the yard, thinking to himself.

' _This is where it all began, and where it all ended,_ ' Lux thought to himself, referring to Dooku's Separatist movement, which actually began on this planet. Hundreds of planets, like Lux's, seceded from the Republic and declared war two years later. Now, most of those worlds were surrendering to the Republic.

All on the same planet.

It all seemed surreal. His Mother voted for secession, and now he was helping the Republic bring an end to that very same movement. It was ironic. But being betrayed really had an effect on changing perspectives.

He heard heard light footsteps tapping down the steps behind him. He decided ignore it, opting to look out over his property.

Someone cleared their throat behind him. " _Enjoying the view, Mr. Bonteri?_ "

Lux turned around to see who was behind him. He was surprised to see that it was Ahsoka.

She had her hands clasped behind her back, and she wiggled her hips gently in an anticipative manner. She smiled.

Lux got up from the stone railing railing and placed his hands on Ahsoka's shoulder before looking into her eyes. He pulled her into his embrace and kissed her Lekku. He then pressed his cheek against where he kissed and began to stroke her montrals.

Ahsoka moaned, in a non-aroused way, and buried her face into Lux's neck, before he snaked her hands up his back and pulled him close. Lux then cupped her face with his hands and pulled her in for a passionate kiss. After a few seconds, he broke the kiss and rested his forehead against her's.

They stood there for a few minutes, getting lost in each other's eyes, and forgetting about the world around them... which was fine by them.

A single tear rolled down his cheek. Ahsoka cupped his face with her hands and whipped the tear away with a thumb.

"Luxie. What's wrong? You weren't this tearful when we last spoke."

"I know. It's just that..." he said. Ahsoka nodded to get him to spit it out. "...It's over. The treaty's been signed. And the cease fire is tomorrow at noon, Galactic Standard Time".

He rested his hands on her hips. Ahsoka leaned in and planted another kiss on his nose.

"That's great news Luxie," she said. She looked up behind them and saw that the other Senators were celebrating. One of them was looking at them and smiling. "Come on, let's go for a walk".

She held his hand in her own and led him down the stairs.

The garden was the exact same that it when they first met many months ago. The trees and grass were the same color. The were walking on the same stone path that cut through the yard, and led to the same gazebo. Ahsoka was wearing the same form fitting outfit. Even Lux had the same outfit and hair style that day.

They sat down next to each other, on the same bench where they discussed their differences and beliefs, and began to slowly foster a relationship that blossomed into the romance that they had today.

Ahsoka scooted in as close as she could to Lux. She coiled her arms around Lux's arm and leaned her head against his shoulder. He used his free arm to clasp his hand with one of hers, and he rested his head between the tips of her montrals. Lux began to fell Ahsoka's Lekku purring. The vibration was soothing, and it made him want to drift off to sleep.

"I can't believe it's over. It all feels so... so surreal," Lux said as he looked out over the yard. "A lot of things feel the same". He said as he got up and leaned against one of the pillars, and he began to stare at the house.

Ahsoka got up and placed her hands on Lux's arm, before she pressed her bust up against his forearm. "Like what?" She asked as she began to swoon over him.

"Hmpf. The hatred between our two peoples, the turmoil on different planets across the galaxy, the corruption, the heartbreaking moments..." he said.

Ahsoka lowered her head a little at that last one. She began to think of Anakin's passing. But then she shooed those sad thoughts out of her head and walked in front of Lux. She pushed him against the pillar, and planted a kiss on his cheek before pressing her bust against his gray outfit, and sliding her hands up his torso and over his shoulders. "I can think of some things that _have_ changed... _definitely_ for the better," she cooed before she leaned up against him.

"Like what?" Lux asked as he looked down at her and slowly ran his hands up and down the sides of her waist.

"Our relationship," she said, her eyes sparkling with happy, loving emotions.

Lux smiled.

"How right you are my darling," he said as he looked down at her beautiful face.

After a few seconds of swooning, Ahsoka stood on the tips of her toes to kiss Lux's mouth. Her hands slid up behind his neck and held the back of her head, deepening the kiss. Lux closed his eyes and rested his hands on Ahsoka's hips as she sucked on his bottom lip with gentle finesse. He slid his hands lower, gently gliding his hands over her voluptuous rump. Ahsoka moaned and pulled Lux deeper into the kiss by his collar. The kiss became more wet as she opened her mouth and began to envelope his lips with her own.

A few minutes later, they broke the kiss and looked into each others eyes. Lux began to rub his hands up and down the sides of her waist again, and Ahsoka rested her head on is shoulder.

"So, my darling... would you like to go for a little walk around the property for a while?" Lux asked her.

"Mmm. Sure. Just promise me that you'll give me a personal tour of the building," Ahsoka requested.

"Of coarse my sweet little 'Soka. And I'll be sure to save the best part of the house for last," he said.

"Oh..." she said, as she scratched her fingertips against the front of his torso. "...And what part is that?"

Lux smirked before he answered.

"The master bedroom".

Ahsoka looked up at Lux as her eyebrows flared up, and her face lit up. They both began to giggle before they pressed their foreheads together.

"Mmmmh ... I'm looking forward to it, Mr. Bonteri."

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Well, that's part 26 folks.**

 **Hope you enjoyed. Make sure to leave your thoughts in the review section.**

 **This is Grubkiller, over and out.**


	27. Chapter 27-Things Change

**Have no fear, Grubkiller's here.**

 **Hey folks, here's chapter 27 of my story, 'The Fall of the Republic'.**

 **Hope you enjoy. Be sure to drop off your thoughts in the review section.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Senate Building, undisclosed location_.

In a secret conference room, under the protection of several Coruscant guardsmen and Senate commandoes, Chancellor Dalyell was speaking with three members the Jedi Council.

They were Yoda, Mace Windu, and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"So what's our next step gentlemen? With Palpatine and Skywalker on the loose, the state of the Republic is . . . at best, fragile. And Separatist holdouts are still getting support from the Separatist War Council, who's location we still haven't ascertained." Dalyell said.

The Jedi Masters were silent for a moment.

Then Obi-Wan spoke up.

"Well, the way I see it... until we find the Sith or the Separatist leaders, we should just move forward with our plans for the occupation".

Then Windu spoke up.

"But we also need to handle the remaining Separatist holdouts. Republic intelligence is reporting that many droid forces aren't being shut down, and several large Separatist battle groups have been seen moving deeper into the outer rim. They may prove difficult for the occupation."

"But how are we supposed to contain these holdouts? And what if we can't? The Republic was nearly ripped apart by a revolution, and Palpatine still has a powerful influence over much of the Republic. What if-" Obi-Wan said, before Yoda raised is hand, causing him to silence himself.

"Calm yourself, young Obi-Wan. Clear our minds we must, and allow ourselves to see a clear path we will. Allow chaos to cloud our minds we must not." Yoda said. "Find allies we will. Stop the Sith we must."

"Anything else on the agenda?"

* * *

Dalyell sat up from his chair and prepared to walk out.

"Where are you going Chancellor?" Mace asked.

Dalyell turned around and looked at Mace.

"I'm off to make a few calls. If the Sith are going to return, then... it's as Master Yoda says: I want to be prepared for _any_ possibilities. But on a less important note, the official cease fire is today, and I want to preside over the Senate when it does. So good day Master Jedi," Dalyell said before he left the room, with a pair of clone troopers escorting him.

"We should get back to the temple," Mace said. "We have a funeral to attend".

"Of coarse," Obi-Wan said solemnly as he got up.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Senate Grand Convocation Chamber_.

Chancellor Dalyell sat in the central podium, which stood atop a 100 foot tall support, flanked by Mas Amedda and Sly Moore. Around him were thousands of Senators from systems all across Republic space.

When he stood up, all of the chattering stopped and the chamber was dead silent.

Holonet camera droids floated around the podium, capturing every able of the new Chancellor for this momentous occasion.

After a few seconds, he finally spoke.

"Members of the Senate, Citizens of the Republic, and to the valiant members of the Grand Army and Jedi Order that have kept us free. For several years, this galaxy has been struck with political turmoil that threatened to tear our civilization asunder; and, for three of those years, this galaxy was racked and torn by war that has been seen on this scale in nearly a thousand years. But, it is with proud relief that I tell you, as of 1000 hours this morning,the Confederacy of Independent Systems signed a formal surrender to the Galactic Republic and concluded a peace treaty."

Senators all across the chamber, those that supported him anyway, stood up and cheered with joy.

After a few moments of allowing them to clap, the Chancellor continued.

"However, we have difficult work to do in the Outer Rim. We're bringing order to those parts of the galaxy that remain dangerous. We're pursuing and finding leaders of the Separatist Alliance who will be held to account for their crimes. We've begun the search for hidden weapons facilities, and already know of hundreds of such sites that will be investigated."

There was more clapping before he continued.

"We are helping to rebuild the Outer Rim, and address the concerns that many separatists had before they left, so that we may reform the Republic in a way that will work for all of the planets that are apart of it."

More clapping.

"Where the corrupt officials of the Confederacy built palaces and military factories, we will instead build hospitals and schools for the people in the region. And we will stand with the leaders of the former CIS worlds as we work together to establish a government of, by and for the people of the Galaxy".

More clapping.

"The transition from military government to representative government in the outer rim will take time, but it is worth every effort. As we begin the process of drawing down our Military expenditures, our peacekeeping forces will stay in the outer rim until our work is done and then we will leave and we will leave behind a free and prosperous region".

The senators, that supported him, gave him a standing ovation.

Those that were against Dalyell, on the other hand, only gave him a half assed applause. They were upset that the war didn't end on their own terms, with Palpatine and their party dominating the Senate.

It was a sign of the work that had to be done in the senate.

Some saw it as a sign that the Republic's dark days were far from over.

But in fact... they've only just begun.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Jedi Temple, Coruscant_.

In an inner chamber of the Jedi Temple, a few dozen Jedi surrounded three bodies, which were each laid down on three stone tables.

This was where deceased Jedi were 'buried'.

Under the sheets were the bodies of three deceased Jedi.

Padme looked around.

Among the Jedi here were the members of the Jedi Council and many other knights who served alongside these three men over the years. Along the back wall were several very important politicians, including Chancellor Dalyell. Clone Troopers, some from the 501st Legion, were also present, wearing their dress blues. They were here to pay their respects as well. Prominent military leaders, such as Tarkin and Yularen, were present as well. There was also a young Chiss officer here from the Ascendancy, who served alongside Anakin during a mission on the edge of known space.

' _Thrawn, I think his name was'_ , Padme thought to herself.

Some of the senators that were present included Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, Jar Jar Binks, Riyo Chuchi, Lux Bonteri.

Padme Amidala wore loose thick clothing to conceal her ever-growing baby bump. She had a small cloth that she used to dab the tears that were welling up in her eyes. She and her colleagues were all lined up against the back wall as the Jedi surrounded the people who were being buried.

The three Jedi that this ceremony was dedicated too were Saesee Tiin, Agen Kolar, and Anakin Skywalker. They were being honored for their involvement in both 'exposing the evil that plagued the Republic, and the efforts they took to surgically remove it'.

Padme noticed that Ahsoka was standing with the rest of the Jedi, next to Plo Koon. She noticed that she wasn't wearing her old Jedi outfit, but she was wearing a Jedi robe over her outfit for the occasion. She was here to pay her respects to her former master.

Padme felt for her. The girl that she had to defend in court was back again to fight for the corrupt Republic that let her down, and she was here to pay respects to a fallen master.

Her secret husband... who was dead. Padme knew that one third of this funeral was a joke. Her husband was alive and well, she knew it. Obi-Wan told her this before she even knew about the funeral. The Council didn't want the Order to know that their chosen one was on the run with a traitor, as Obi-Wan had explained.

' _Something else must be going on. Obi-Wan wasn't telling her everything'_.

But Padme was brought back into reality when she heard the sound of a cane echoing through the chamber as it tapped against the marble floor.

Yoda hobbled back and forth on his cane, walking around the three caskets.

"One with the Force, they are, and our job it is to remember that we will, in time, also pass on. Luminous beings are we, but temporary vessels, our bodies are. And we shall all find ourselves here, in time. A moment of silence, I ask—to remember their sacrifice to the order... to the galaxy, and to move on." Yoda said.

He tapped his cane onto the floor. The noise it made echoed quite loudly through the chamber.

When that happened, the 'three' bodies were lowered into the tomb. After that, a heavy door closed over the tombs. That's when three beams of golden light shot out of the ground and connected to the ceiling.

After the ceremony was complete, the attendees either filed out of the room or lingered behind to speak amongst themselves. Padme had to leave. She couldn't be apart of this any longer. It made her sick to her stomach that this could happen, and that the Jedi would stoop to this level of faking a funeral, of her husband, no less. But she wasn't going to be confrontational about it.

She was aware that Obi-Wan knew about her and Anakin. Obi-Wan must not have told the Council about them, because it might've put him in a tenuous position with the Council.

As Padme walked out, she saw some of Anakin's men from the 501st gathered around the burial. They each poured a drink to give a toast to Anakin.

"Here's to General Skywalker, ' _The Hero Without Fear'_ ," Rex said as he raised his glass.

"To the General!" The other clones said in unison before downing their drinks.

Padme felt a slight pit forming in her stomach.

When she walked out of the chamber, she saw some of the attendees conversing with one another. Threepio was waiting for her, ready to take her home. He said something that she couldn't hear, as she was focused on two particular attendees.

Ahsoka Tano, the former padawan of her secret husband, and Lux Bonteri, son of her old friend and political mentor.

She smiled as Ahsoka walked up to Lux, who smiled.

It made Padme smile a little.

 _'They look so cute together'_.

They looked at each other for a few seconds. She noticed that Lux's smile had disappeared when he saw Ahsoka's face. Padme deduced that she was upset. Lux stretched his arms, and the next thing Padme knew, Ahsoka had lunged forward into his arms. She rested her head against his shoulder, and buried her face into his neck to sob into it. Lux held her by her back and kissed one of her montral tips.

 _"I can't believe he's gone"_. Padme heard Ahsoka sob.

After a few more seconds of watching Lux get his jacket soaked by his Ahsoka's tears, Padme decided that it was time to leave, not being able to watch anymore.

 _'I'm sorry Ahsoka. If only things things had gone the way they were supposed to'_.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

After the funeral, Ahsoka and Lux walked back to where their speeder was parked. Lux led her the entire way.

Moments later, their speeder took off and headed back to Lux's apartment.

No... _their_ apartment.

Ahsoka rested her head on Lux's lap while he drove.

Her Lekku made an excellent cushion for his...special spot.

Normally, Ahsoka would be purring, and Lux would be aroused. But having just been to a funeral for someone very near and dear to Ahsoka... now was not the time. She began to think of a conversation that she had with Plo Koon before she and Lux left.

* * *

 _"I sense that you are conflicted Little 'Soka," said a voice behind her._

 _She looked behind her and saw Master Plo Koon walking up to her._

 _Plo Koon and Ahsoka went way back. The Kel Dor Jedi master was the one who found Ahsoka and brought her to the temple. And now she considered him to be like her adopted grandfather._

 _"Oh uhm, I'm fine Master Plo, I..." Ahsoka tried to say. Plo just looked at her. His steely gaze made her stop speaking. Ahsoka sighed in defeat. "I should've been there for him," she said._

 _"The will of the force is most inscrutable young one. We cannot fully control our destiny. The Force guides us. Sometimes, as individuals, we don't like where it leads us. But you must understand that Anakin's path took him where it ended. He... he was a hero. Remember that. And remember that when he became one with the force, he left behind something to be proud of," Plo said, placing a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder._

 _She smiled. She sniffled, wiped her eyes, and nodded her head. "Thank you Master"._

 _Plo Koon nodded._

 _"Now I must attend a meeting with the council, and you should go home and get some rest. Even protectors of the Republic need their rest," Plo said._

 _Ahsoka smiled and gave Plo Koon a hug. He broke away from the hug a few seconds later and left the chamber._

 _When Plo left, she turned back to the floor. She lowered down to one knee and placed her hand on the stone slab beneath her. A single tear ran down her face and dripped off of the tip of her nose. It hit the floor with a tiny splash._

 _"Goodbye Anakin," she said._

* * *

After about 20 minutes, they landed in the garage for their building and went up to their apartment.

When they got there, they entered the apartment.

It was a decorative room, with polished gray stone flooring, red walls with gold patterns, and a balcony that looked out over the city. There was also a kitchen that was connected to the living room, which had an 'L'-shaped couch and a coffee table in front of it. There was also a holo-screen in the room for entertainment.

Ahsoka took her boots off, while Lux went to the kitchen.

"I'm going to make dinner. Why don't you go upstairs and get some rest?"

"Okay," Ahsoka said obediently in a cracked, but sweet voice. She went upstairs to their room. It had white carpeting and light orange walls. It also had a balcony that overlooked the city. The room also had a bathroom connected to it. The bed had cream colored silken sheets and white, puffy pillows. Their was also a holo-screen in the room, facing the bed.

Ahsoka changed into her pajamas, which consisted of a pair of cream colored pajama pants, and a matching top. The top had long sleeves, but it was very short. It only covered her breasts and shoulders. Everything below that was exposed, showing off her fiery abdomen. The top also had a plunging 'V'-neck that was unbuttoned right now, showing off her large breasts, but hugging them very nicely at the same time.

She brushed her teeth, washed her face, and slipped under the covers.

But she couldn't sleep. All she could think about was her old master.

She thought about the first time they met. She was, admittedly, a handful back then. But they came to be a good team.

 _"You're reckless little one. You never would've made it as Obi-Wan's padawan. But you might make it as mine,"_ he'd told her back on Christophsis. What followed was an unbreakable bond that carried them forward throughout the war.

They were always there for each other.

But in Anakin's final moment, she wasn't there for him.

" _I'm sorry Skyguy_ ," she said softly.

* * *

About an hour later, after having dinner in bed together, Lux and Ahsoka began to watch the Holonet screen together. Ahsoka was snuggled in close to Lux, who had an arm draped around her shoulders.

But she still wasn't purring.

Lux looked down at Ahsoka.

"Ahsoka... are you feeling Okay?" He asked before he saw that tears had been streaming down her face.

He shut off the screen and laid down in the bed next to her.

It was dark out, but the sounds of the city continued to echo throughout the night.

He coiled his arms around her waist and pulled her close.

Lux planted kisses up and down her Lekku. He then pulled her closer to him. Ahsoka's face was buried in Lux's neck, and he gently nuzzled his nose against her Lekku.

"Ahsoka. I know what you're going through right now. And whatever you need, know that I'm right here for you. Thousands of your comrades in the Clone Army and many of your friends in the Jedi Order are there for you, if you need them," Lux said. "I promise you that you're not alone".

Ahsoka wiped away her tears and smiled.

"Thank you Lux," she said before she kissed him on the lips briefly. They placed their foreheads against each other's.

"Anytime. I love you Ahsoka," he said.

She smiled even more brightly.

"I love you too Lux," Ahsoka said before they started kissing again.

An hour later, they drifted off to sleep.

Ahsoka laid on her side, while Lux laid behind her. He was spooning her. He coiled his arms around her upper torso, smashing her massive breasts together and making them look like they'd plop out of her tight cotton top, as he pulled her closer into his embrace.

As they fell asleep, Lux could feel her Lekku vibrating.

Ahsoka was finally purring again.

No matter what, Lux would help her through this like all of her friends needed too.

That's what any good boyfriend would do.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Sith Med Facility, Byss System_.

Darth Sidious hovers around the periphery of a group of medical droids who are working on Anakin's new arm. Darth Sidious paces in the foreground.

A droid approaches the Dark Lord.

"My Lord, the patient's new arm has been attached, and will be fully functional momentarily," he said.

"Good. Good," Sidious says.

The droid moves back to the medical table where Darth Vader is sitting up.

Vader has been given a robotic arm replacement. His battle-worn tunic lay on the ground next to a fresh replacement. Vader was exposed from the waist up, his wounds covered by bacta patches, which would make them heal faster. .

Darth Sidious stepped over to the table and looked at Darth Vader.

Vader looked up from his new robot arm, which had artificial tissue over it, and met his master's gaze.

"Rise, Lord Vader," Sidious said.

"Yes, My Master," he said. He sat up and rubbed his wrists before he looked around the room. "Where is Padme? Is she safe, is she all right?"

Darth Sidious moves closer to his new apprentice.

"She is. However, she isn't here with us."

Vader was alarmed.

"Then we must rescue her."

Sidious raised his hand.

"Patience. She will be with us in due time. In the meantime, wouldn't it be better for you to focus more on creating a bright future for your wife and unborn child?"

Vader thought about it. Then he got up from the medical bed and kneeled before his master, and bowing his head.

"Yes, my Master."

"Good. Gooood. The force is strong with you, Lord Vader. We will put your powers to use, and crush the Jedi once and for all".

"I look forward to learning from your vast knowledge of the force, master."

"All in good time, my apprentice. In the meantime, I must show you something".

* * *

 _Venator-Class Star Destroyer, ISD Imperium, Byss system_.

On an Imperial cruiser, surrounded it's sister ships and several small support ships, Darth Sidious stood on the bridge. He is standing next to the Grand Inquisitor, as his new apprentice walks along the bridge to join the two of them.

Darth Vader was wearing a black tunic, much like his old Jedi one, and is wearing a black robe over that. His old Jedi saber still hangs from his belt.

They all look, in silence, out the viewport.

On one of the moons below them, millions of Spaarti developed Jango Fett clones, that had been in secret development here for months, were standing in rank in file. They were originally meant for the Grand Army. But now that Sidious was revealed, this new Clone Army that was loyal to him and him alone, was now being absorbed into the legions of the Sith Imperial Army. There were also hundreds of Venator, Acclemator, and Imperator-class warships. They were painted all gray, and crewed by Spaarti clones.

This vast fleet was being loaded with soldiers and equipment.

When the time was right, the Sith were going to launch their lightning strikes against the unsuspecting Republic, where they would finally reclaim the galaxy as their own.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Republic Center for Military Operations, Federal District, Coruscant_.

On a structure that at the center of the Republic's CMO facility, at the highest point, Chancellor Dalyell stood with several Jedi and dignitaries, including Mon Mothma and Bail Organa, as well as several Jedi Council members, including Yoda, Windu and Obi-Wan, stand looking down at a massive square below.

Tens of thousands of Clone Troopers, there polished white armor shining in the bright moonlight, are drawn up into tight formations, where they took turns moving forwards in tight files to climb the ramps of several Assault Ships.

On the balcony, the expression on everyone's face is hopefulness with a hint of sadness. Everyone watches as loaded Assault Ships, where they take off, ascending to orbit to join their battle groups and head into the Outer Rim to support the occupation.

The Great Clone Wars may have ended in the eyes of most people. But to those who knew better, this was just the beginning.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _500 Republica, Coruscant_.

Padme stood on the veranda of her apartment.

She kept on thinking of her husband. Her mind raced as she thought about where he was, what he was doing and when she would be able to see him again. It was exactly what she did throughout the war. Only this time, it was worse. Anakin was a fugitive, on the run with the ex-Chancellor.

And she didn't know why.

She knew that when this was all over, and when she saw her husband again, things would have to change. He would be forced to leave the order, and she would have to leave the senate.

But at least they would have each other, and their child. Her hand subconsciously went down to her stomach, which she began to rub. She then grasped the Japor snippet that hung from her neck. It was a little trinket that Anakin made for her a few days after they met, when he was nine and she was fourteen.

 _'When the time comes, we'll be ready'_.

"Oh Ani, wherever you are... come home to us".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Okay folks, that's part 27 of this story.**

 **Now, I'm gonna take a break from this story, because I have a few side stories that tie into this one that i want to work on.**

 **But fear not. This isn't the end. In fact, my dear delusional Dark Knight, it hasn't even begun.**


	28. Chapter 28-The Surge

_**CLONE WARS IS BACK YA'LL!**_

 _ **HOLY MOTHER MARY AND BABY JESUS!**_

 _ **PRAISE THE LORD AND PASS THE EPISODES!**_

 **I saw the trailer, twice, and my fond childhood memories of sitting on the couch with my family on Friday nights came flooding back to me. My brother and I are excited, and even my dad got chills. If you have yet to see the trailer, get the hell out of here and go see it! NOW!**

 **Hallelujah, there is definitely a God, (and I will fight you on that if you try to argue otherwise).**

 **For the first time in months, maybe a couple years, I feel like Star Wars isn't dead.**

 **I'm happy to report that I am one of many fans that signed a petition to bring clone wars back. I'm also happy to report that my favorite show of all time is coming back.**

 **Also, I might make some changes to my story, Fall of the Republic, now that Clone Wars is coming back. But that can wait, for now, I leave you with these words: The Force will be with you... always.**

* * *

 **Anyway, back to the story.**

 **This is part 28 of my story, 'Fall of the Republic'.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Message to Grand Army HQ on Coruscant_ _._

 _This is stealth vessel 935. Separatist forces are still active in many different parts of the outer rim. There are riots in the streets of several different planets. And Separatist Naval activity has been detected in several sectors of the outer rim. These are most likely rogue elements ignoring the cease-fire._

 _Recommendations_ _:_

 _1\. Use Naval Assets to quarantine troublesome worlds/systems/regions._

 _2\. Use the Grand Army to conduct Anti-insurgency operations in former CIS territory._

 _3\. Place communications outposts and set up QRF's (Quick Reaction Force) within range of suspected Separatist holdout regions to pacify sudden uprisings._

 _4\. In the event of a failed military occupation, areas considered too dangerous for civilian travel or continued military occupation should be subject to Hammer of Dawn strikes._

 _Message ends._

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Republic Holonet Broadcast_.

 _Dalyell has formally given up his emergency powers since the War has ended. But as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed forces, Dalyell still has the power to authorize Military deployments. Because of this, the Joint Chiefs have announced a new series of military operations into the outer rim earlier today. These operations are meant to bolster the occupation in the Outer Rim, and to contain Separatist holdouts and quell potential uprisings. This new move by Dalyell's government has been dubbed 'The Surge'._

 _Ever since the deployment of Republic reinforcements in the outer rim, a move dubbed ' The Surge', massive organized protests have formed in cities on planets all across the Core and Colonies. _

_During a press briefing at the Grand Army Military Complex, when asked "why is the Republic going on another military adventure into the outer rim, costing more blood and credits," the Chief of the Defense Staff, General Bardry Salaman had this to say:_

 _"When the Republic demilitarized, it was left unprepared to deal with threats out in the outer rim. Because we didn't have a military to enforce our laws, or protect our trade,_ _pirate gangs were allowed to attack our trade interests in the region, and smuggling activity was on the rise. Hutt Space increased in size, allowing them to expand their immoral practices of slavery and smuggling_ _. Then the Separatist came to power, and tried to tear the Republic down and leave the galaxy in chaos. And now that they're defeated, it has left a power vacuum, that will be filled by outlaws, terrorists, and other people who may try to exploit the post-war turmoil for their own gain. That is why we must show our resolve and make sure that law and order is re-established, for our economic and security interests in the Outer Rim"._

 _A group of Senators from the Centralist Party, led by Senator Ask Aak, are demanding that Dalyell formally issue a pardon for Ex-Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, who has been in exile for several weeks now, after being forcefully removed from office. But when Dalyell was asked about it, he blew it off saying, quote, "I will not let that Sith Sleemo walk free for as long as I live"._

 _In other news, more insurgent activity has been reported in the Outer Rim, attacking Republic forces. Casualty reports coming up after the break._

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Former CIS world, Antar IV_.

Antar.

The home-world of the Gotal. A fury species with two horns growing out of the head.

They were also loyal to Count Dooku during the Secessionist Crisis. But ever since Dooku died, and The Clone Wars ended, the moon had fallen into pure anarchy, with the local populace refusing to follow the Republic. Now, the Republic was moving back in to reestablish its authority.

Republic Tanks and Clone troopers moved through the streets Antar's cities.

But they weren't welcome.

Anarchists gathered in the streets. They threw rocks, debris, and bottles filled with bodily fluids at the approaching clones.

Many armed themselves and attacked Republic forces from the windows and alleyways.

Some of the riots were getting out of hand.

Cities were taken over, their roads sealed off. Republic troops were forced to blockade the cities.

To bring the rioters and terrorists to heal, the Grand Army believed that it was necessary to quash the revolution where it was the most chaotic. So the Chancellor and the Joint Chiefs had Clone forces sent into Temba Port (Antar's capital) and the Baal Commune.

Y-wing bombers flew by and blasted the space ports to kingdom come. Republic tanks and infantry moved through the streets. Anyone who so much as shook a stick at the Grand Army was blasted or arrested. Clones even swept through the homes of many suspected revolutionaries.

One squad placed a breach charge on the door and blasted it open. They then tossed flash bangs into the open door. When everyone inside was deaf, dumb, and blind, the Clones rushed in and arrested everyone of importance, and killed anyone who so much as shook a stick at them.

Firefights broke out in the streets. They were put down.

Insurgent snipers set up in windows, on water towers, and on rooftops. They picked off targets of opportunity. Sometimes they'd get an officer, but usually had to settle with just killing regular clone troopers. If they were caught, they were usually executed on the spot. Clones didn't like it when someone killed a couple of their brothers and surrendered when they got caught, a smug look on their faces.

It was nothing but chaos and anarchy in the streets.

But with the revolutionaries put down, it was soon under control.

But 'independent journalists', contracted and payed by the Palpatine's followers, recorded everything and got the word out.

The Republic was committing atrocities and crimes against humanity.

Or so they said.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Ando, former CIS planet, Republic Embassy_.

Ando, an oceanic planet made up of saltwater oceans, swamps, and small rocky islands.

It was also a CIS planet during the Clone Wars.

It was taken over by a Republic occupation. During the occupation, the Palpatine's followers said that the Aqualish people would have a place in their post-Republic galaxy if they surrendered any Jedi on the planet to the them.

The people of Ando agreed and assassinated a Jedi Knight that was in charge of the Republic occupation. Because of this, the Republic was back. They re-invaded the planet and crushed the Separatist holdouts that appeared.

Then, the Republic wanted to make sure that radicals couldn't take over the planet. So they stepped in to provide food and infrastructure for the people.

But in Quantill City, the capital, crowds of anti-Republic demonstrators gathered outside the Republic Embassy.

They held up signs that voiced their displeasure.

 _'Avenge Dooku!'_

 _'Death to the Republic!'_

 _'Clones go home!'_

Some had drawings of dead Jedi.

Someone held up a dummy of Chancellor Dalyell with spikes jammed into it.

Inside the embassy, Clone Security Troopers, wearing white armor with gray colored accents, stood at attention with their DC-15a rifles shouldered. They guarded gates, doors, and security checkpoints to keep the protestors out.

But they weren't just protestors. They were a cover for pro-Separatist terrorists. They had snipers in the surrounding buildings, and even amongst the crowd of protestors. They tossed EMP grenades at the gate. They detonated and short-circuited the energy shield. The protestors moved closer to the Embassy.

One of the troopers noticed this.

"Alert Alert! Security breach at the main gate. Everyone get to your-," The trooper tried to say before he was shot by a sniper.

"SNIPER!" Another clone shouted before he too was gunned down.

" _All units. This is Commander Stone. Fall back and take cover in the buildings! All non-essential personnel move to the bunkers! And have all sensetive material destroyed!_ " An officer ordered over the comm-system.

Security troopers moved inside and barricaded the buildings.

Rioters flooded the courtyard and cut off all surface access to the buildings. (Some of the buildings are connected with underground tunnels.

Snipers in the buildings and crowds continued to pick off any soldier or civilian that they saw. No one was safe from the mob.

Clone Commander Stone went up onto the rooftops where over a dozen security troopers were taking cover. Some of them were wounded.

Hundreds of rioters were in the courtyard now.

The Buildings were surrounded.

"Captain Redeye. What's the situation?" He asked into his com-link with his voice raised.

" _Sir. Those rioters are getting out of control. There are snipers in the crowd, and the mob is starting to throw bricks and set crap on fire. If they keep this up, then the Embassy'll be overrun,_ " Clone Captain Redeye said.

He was on another rooftop with other Security Troopers.

The clones returned fire at the buildings outside of the embassy walls.

Some enemy snipers were taken down. But there were quite a few more in the buildings. The majority of the terrorists seemed to be in the crowd, using the demonstrators as cover.

The strange thing was... the rioters knew about this.

They didn't care if they were human shields.

They wanted the Republic to go... at _any_ cost.

Hostile snipers continued to pick off any target of opportunity.

A few civilian embassy workers were captured and torn apart by the mob's bare hands.

It wasn't pretty.

Several Republic gunships tried to lend a hand from a nearby Republic airfield.

But more militants fired on them. Some of them had rocket launchers.

The Gunships banked hard to avoid the volley of rockets, but two of them were shot down.

" _Dear God. We've got two Larties down. Repeat: Two Gunships have been shot down,_ " one of the pilots said over the com system. " _Sorry Commander, but the LZ is too hot. We have to return to base"_.

The 3 remaining gunships broke off and headed back to the airfield.

Commander Stone watched in horror as more of his men were wounded by enemy fire, most of which was coming from the few militants that were in the mob on the embassy grounds. Not to mention 40% of their salvation being shot down and the other 60% was forced to fly away.

He looked around. The crowd was still chanting "Down with the Republic Tyrants!" The militants were still firing o the embassy.

The Mob even started to throw homemade bombs at the windows. The screams of several civilians inside the building could be heard.

Rage began to boil inside of Stone. "My God, that's enough!"

He pressed down on the button for his wrist comm.

He then spoke into it.

"Gray 2, This is Gray leader. Engage hostiles targets as they appear! Deadly force is authorized. How copy? Over!" He said.

" _Negative Gray Leader! Negative! I've got unarmed women and children in my line of fire! And I've got enemy snipers about 400 meters out. How Copy? Over_!" Redeye replied.

"WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS ORDER THAT YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND CAPTAIN!?" Stone shouted into his com-link as several blaster bolts struck the wall above him.

Nothing came in from the other side for a few seconds.

"Sir...are you ordering me to fire into the crowd? Over!" Redeye asked.

"Yes God Damnit! WAIST THE MOTHER-FRAKKERS!" Stone ordered.

"Redeye out!" He hung up before he turned to his troopers. "ENGAGE ENGAGE! OPEN FIRE!" He shouted.

Clones on every rooftop yelled out a battle cry and vaulted over cover. They stood on the edge of the rooftops and fired into the crowd.

As hundreds of blue laser bolts flew into the angry mob, the sounds of people screaming in pain and fear filled the streets of Quantill City.

People that've just been chanting 'Down With The Republic!' not one minute ago, were now screaming in terror as they scrambled over each other to get out of the courtyard. As unarmed men, women, and children (that were dragged in by their activist parents) were gunned down across the Embassy grounds, the armed men that are concealed by the mob were now exposed.

They tried to run (because terrorists are cowards), but the were gunned down.

As the hostile gunfire died down and the crowd had finished emptying out of the courtyard (If they weren't killed), Commander Stone stood up and walked along the line.

"Cease Fire!" He shouted, kicking some of the troopers if they couldn't hear him. "Cease Fire!"

Captain Redeye heard what he was shouting and decided to repeat the orders.

"Cease Fire! Cut it out! Cease Fire!" Redeye ordered.

One by one, the clones stopped firing.

"Keep an eye out! There may still be snipers out there!" Stone ordered.

Everyone looked out over the courtyard. The bodies lied still. Some people came back to recover their dead family members. Some of them yelled obscenities at the Republic troopers.

It would later be reported that of the 327 people who lied dead in the courtyard, only 18 were armed.

Some people would later note that the Clones, as much as they'd would be haunted by what they've done, were just trying to defend themselves.

But the "journalists" working undercover for the Sith, were just going to make the Republic look as evil as possible.

Dead civilians, especially children, always made excellent propaganda.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Tervissis, Outer Rim_.

A planet that was the home world of the Tervigs, Tervissis was currently subjuct to a Republic invasion in the weeks following the Clone Wars.

It was all part of the Listehol Campaign, which was one of a series of operations that sent the Republic into the Outer Rim to pacify an remaining Separatist holdouts. Of all the planets that fell quickly to the Republic, Tervissis was the one that put up the most stubborn resistance, as it was where everyone who hated the Republic between the Corporate Sector and Hutt space decided to go. But after five weeks of stubbornly resisting Republic forces, the Republic finally invaded the planet itself, crushing all Separatist resistance.

Now, Ahsoka and a squad of clones were on the surface, their speeders zooming through the streets of one of the major cities, their engine buzzes echoing for miles down the roads in different directions.

It was a ghost town.

All of the buildings were bombed-out. This was due to the many Republic bombing raids that took place on Tervissis during the Clone Wars. But then, when the War ended, it was one of many CIS planets that refused to give up, leading to a full on Republic invasion.

They parked their BARC speeders around the corner of a ruined building. They dismounted and entered the building.

* * *

Ahsoka and the team began to walk upstairs. When they got upstairs, they were able to look out over a large open area, near a suspected Separatist weapons emplacement.

Ahsoka and several of her men scanned the area with their binoculars and visors.

An E-WEB repeating blaster turret gun was manned by a dozen humanoid insurgents.

"Looks like they have complete command of the area. No cover," Rex said.

"So, what's plan of attack guys?" Echo asked.

Ahsoka pulled out her sabers.

"Follow me boys," Ahsoka said as she jumped into the eyesight of the gun crew.

"Jedi. Get her!" One insurgent ordered.

Blaster fire started to hit her position. But she deflected every round that came her way

"Time to kill us some seppies," Hardcase said.

"Just shut up and get down there," Jesse ordered as he used his scoped rifle to pick off the gun crew.

Rex, Tup, Echo, and Hardcase got behind Ahsoka, and they started firing over her.

While they used the sword and shield maneuver to advance, Jesse picked them off.

" _Enemy sniper!"_ One shouted.

"3 _down, 9 to go. They're all yours Commander,_ " Jesse said in Ahsoka's comm.

They charged the gun and got up close and personal with the Tervig militiamen.

They blasted and hacked away at them.

When they were down, Ahsoka gave Jesse a thumbs up, which was acknowledged with a glint from his scope.

Tup kicked a body of a dead insurgent.

"Why don't they just give up?" He asked.

"Because they hate us. Even though we've given them food, medicine, shelter, clothing, electricity... etc." Ahsoka said. "You know, sometimes, I try to empathize with former Separatists. But then some of them are just... just ..."

"...Just a buncha assholes". Hardcase finished.

Ahsoka compressed her lips into a straight line, before she responded. "Sure, let's go with that".

"Talk about biting the hand that feeds you," Tup said.

"Yeah well, bring it on. I'll take on all of these bastards," Hardcase said.

"Don't you ever get tired of this?" Jesse asked as he walked up from his sniper perch.

"Hell no," Hardcase said.

The clones laughed.

Later, when they all went back to base, Rex went up to Ahsoka

"Why don't you get going ma'am? We've got everything covered here," he said.

"I don't know how I feel about leaving you," Ahsoka said.

"It's okay. You didn't have to come back, but you did anyway. And you're leave is coming up. You deserve a break," Jesse said. "Besides, I think General Allusis can handle it".

"You mean the insurgents?" She asked.

"No, us," he answered

The other clones started laughing at Jesse.

"Well if you feel so strongly about it. Okay," Ahsoka said. "See you boys later".

"Be seeing you Commander," the clones said.

On her way to the airfield, where her personal fighter, She saw dozens of refugees lined up, looking for aid that was being passed out by Republic forces. A small refugee children ran up to her with his palms presented to her.

Humans weren't native to this planet. The fact that one was here spoke volumes about how badly people were displaced during the War, and afterward.

Ahsoka smiled. She reached for a pouch on her belt, unsnapped it to open the flap, and pulled out a ration stick. She crouched down and smiled as she gave the child the stick. The human boy smiled when he accepted the stick. That's when Ahsoka ruffled his hair.

The boy then ran off.

She smiled when she saw him run into the arms of his mother.

Ahsoka then continued on her way.

When she got to the hanger bay, Ahsoka jumped into her new V-wing, which was already warmed up by her old droid R7-A7.

She flew up into the sky.

Then she saw supply corvettes coming in for a landing, ready to distribute more supplies for the populace, and the occupation forces. She felt bad for the people here. Many of them were here because of the Outer Rim Sieges, which only ended a few weeks ago.

But then she shook the sad thoughts out of her head and replaced them with new ones.

" _Here I come Lux_." she said under her breath, before she and R7 made the jump to hyperspace.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Galactic Senate office building_.

It was morning on Coruscant. The sky was blue, and the hustle and bustle of the bid city was in full swing, as sky speeders taking people back and forth, zoomed through the skies.

Republic Assault Ships took off and landed, as they began to take troops to the front, or they landed to bring their troopers back from the front to go on leave.

In an office that got an excellent view of the city, and got good sunlight, Senator Padme Amidala, who was currently 7 months pregnant, sat behind her desk. Her slender fingertips danced over the keyboard of a holo-pad that was right in front of her.

She was just finishing up a bill that she and her pears were putting together. One that she wanted on the floor of the senate soon.

Ever since her husband 'died'- according to the Jedi Council - the young, and very pregnant, senator found herself with low energy these days. She always kept herself busy. It helped to take her mind off of recent events.

But when she started thinking a about it again, she became depressed. Her husband was a fugitive to the Jedi Council in reality, and dead to everyone who believed in that particular farce.

It was hard being pregnant. It was going to be much harder to raise her child with her husband in hiding with one of the most wanted men in history.

She still wasn't sure what to make of this entire situation. Padme was still convinced that the Jedi weren't telling the whole story. And she sure wasn't getting it because of her secret relationship with Anakin.

As she thought about it, a voice spoke to her from behind.

"Good morning, Milady," the voice said.

Padme nearly jumped out of her seat, and her baby kicked, when she heard the voice. She turned in her seat, and was surprised to see that it was her husband. Her breath was caught in her throat as her smirking husband stood over him.

She exploded from her chair and threw herself into Anakin's arms. He caught her, and spun her around.

"I've missed you so much..." she said, before she captured his lips with her own.

"I've missed you too," he said before they continued to kiss passionately.

After several minutes of feverishly, and passionately, kissing each other. Padme's eyes shot open and she pulled away.

"Wait, Ani. You're not supposed to be here. You... what if you're caught?"

"I won't be caught. I snuck in here, so I will be able to sneak out. Besides... no blockade in the world will ever keep us apart," he said.

Padme walked away and stepped over to the window. "Nice to know that our child will have such a law-abiding role model to look up to," she said sarcastically.

Anakin walked up to her, and coiled his arms around her body, placing his hands on her belly, where he felt their child kicking. He then nuzzled his face into her neck, where he placed soft, tender kisses along her slender column of flesh.

She moaned in pleasure.

"You know, we should go away together. I know a place far from here where no one would recognise us. Yeah, it would be like we're actually husband and wife, instead of Senator and ex-Jedi fugitive." He said in between kisses.

"I... I can't, Annie." Padme said before she pulled herself out of his embrace and sat back down in her chair.

Anakin's frustration began to flare up a little.

"What do you mean you can't? It's only a few days, we'll be back before anyone even notices we're gone."

"Annie, I have duties to the Senate. They're important." She said, not looking away from the screen in front of her.

Anakin sat on the desk and leaned in to see what she was working on.

"More important than the way you feel about me?"

Padme shook her head. She turned in her chair to face Anakin. She placed her hands over his and gently stroked them. "Is that you've gotten a new arm, she said as she stroked the artificial tissue.

Anakin looked away.

Padme sighed. "Look Annie, We're going to be parents soon. When that time comes, I plan on leaving the Senate. Then the two of us can go into hiding, create a new life for ourselves. We can be happy," she said before she took Anakin's hand and placed them on her belly. " _All_ of us".

They smiled at each other.

Padme reached up and began to play with Anakin's hand.

"That sounds nice. But first... I need to help clear Palpatine's name. I can't allow the galaxy to be ruled by the injustice that he suffered".

"And you say I'm idealistic?" she joked.

He frowned in response, thinking that she wasn't taking him seriously.

"I promise you this Padme..." he said more assertively. "Justice will shine over this galaxy as long as we're together. I will always protect you... because you are my life."

Before she could respond, he leaned in and began to kiss her. As passion and heat began to spread throughout her body, she got up and sat on the desk with Anakin, while still kissing. Their hands began to roam with sensual purpose.

Padme couldn't help but feel giddy. Having her husband make love to her in her office was a fantasy of hers that she'd had for some time. She'd always thought that such actions were risky, but it was probably what made the fantasy so appealing.

 _'Leave it to Annie to pull that off'_.

Her body thrilled, as Anakin loomed over her, about to lay her down on the desk, passion glazing their eyes.

That's when they heard a commotion outside.

 _"- But Senator Organa, it just wouldn't be..."_ Threepio could be heard saying.

"Quick, hide!" Padme hissed. Anakin hid underneath the desk, while Padme straightened himself out.

 _"The situation cannot be delayed. Now stand aside._ " Bail's muffled voice said. The door opened with a hiss, and Bail walked through with C-3PO right on his tail. "I apologise for my abruptness."

"Oh, Senator Organa, how good to see you. What is it?"

"The loyalist committee has called a meeting. We wanted to discuss recent executive directives that Dalyell has signed."

"Right, Executive directives." She said under her breath before she looked back at her desk, and saw Anakin peaking over it. They shared one last loving look before she saw him shoot back under the desk.

"Coming, Senator Amidala?" bail asked.

"Of course."

With one final glance at the desk her husband hid under, she followed Bail to his office where the meeting was to take place.

* * *

Later that day, in the office of Senator Bail Organa that overlooked the city, and was over-shadowed by the larger Senate building, Padme, Bail Organa, and senators Mon Mothma, Fand Zar, Giddean Danu, and Terr Teneel were sitting around a table.

They were celebrating the fact that the Chancellor was overriding much of Palpatine's directives.

"I'm glad that Chancellor Dalyell is listening to us, and I also approve of the job that he's doing so far. But you all know, as well as I do, that almost everything that Dalyell is doing, is through an executive order. Granted, he's using them to override Palpatine's orders, but we need to find a way to make the Constitution more... durable." Bail Organa said.

His colleagues began to nod in a agreement.

"When Palpatine was in power, he and his supporters were able to change whatever part of the constitution that they wanted if it got in the way of their agenda. And as a result, the Republic was nearly destroyed from within. We can't allow that to ever happen again," Padme said.

Giddean Danu spoke up next. "If Dalyell is removed from office and replaced by someone like Palpatine, then they will just override Dalyell's directives in favor of Palpatine's. We would go right back to having a dictatorship," he said.

"Does anyone have any suggestions, while we are in a agreement?" Mon Mothma asked.

Everyone looked at each other, seeing if they had any suggestions.

When no one had come forth with anything, Padme stood up and spoke up again.

"We need to remind the people that their rights are guaranteed in the constitution. And the role of the three branches of government are also defined clearly by the same document. We need to make sure that no one man can just circumvent the blueprints of our Republic. I move that we put a motion on the floor to reform the constitution. Two of us can co-author the bill that will call for congressional term limits, and a redefinition of the checks and balances".

Everyone nodded.

"Very well. Bail, why don't you and Padme start putting this bill together?" Mon Mothma suggested, "We can have it on the floor of the Senate by the time you finish."

Padme nodded and smiled.

"I'll get it done."

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant, near the Senate building_.

After going behind enemy lines to see his wife, Darth Vader walked over to where his star-fighter was. He could see Artoo outside of the ship, checking it's systems. The reliable droid still had his full memory, but was reprogrammed to be more obedient of Anakin as he worked with a fugitive. Other than that, it was the same old Artoo.

But before he could get back to his fighter, he heard his com-link beeping.

He answered and saw that his master was calling him.

He kneeled before the hologram of Darth Sidious.

"What is thy bidding, my master?"

"If we are going to take control of this galaxy, then we need allies. I want you to go to Nal Hutta to negotiate with the Hutt clans. With them on our side, our other allies will have total control of the outer rim. If you find that they are uncooperative, perhaps the negotiations will be more fruitful with whoever is next in line to rule over the Hutts."

"Yes, my master".

Sidious paused.

"I sense turmoil within you, my apprentice. Remember what you serve me for. You serve me so that you can bring peace and justice to the galaxy. And you do it to save you wife".

"I understand master."

Sidious cut the transmission and allowed Anakin to get on with it.

' _Next stop: Nal Hutta_ ', Vader thought to himself before he boarded his fighter.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant, 500 Republica_.

It's been a long day.

Lux had finally returned home from the Senate Building to his apartment.

In the Galactic Senate, it had been business as usual. That business mostly involved fighting, bickering, and yelling. LOTS OF YELLING!

He remembered how one member of his party was beaten within an inch of his life by a senator that was loyal to Palpatine while in the middle of delivering a speech. How he didn't get arrested was beyond him. It spoke volumes on how much corruption was still within the senate, and how much power the Palpatine loyalists still had. But as likely as it seemed, Dalyell's approval rating was climbing thanks to his loosening of Palpatine's laws, and his support in the senate is steadily rising, thanks to former Confederate worlds that supported him.

When he opened the door, he entered a room with a polished white stone floor, red walls fashioned with spiraling bronze patterns and a nice veranda overlooking the city. In the center of the floor was a small little pond filled with glittering water. Inside, swam five little sea eels.

The junior senator called out for his girlfriend, whom he knew was supposed to be on leave.

"Ahsoka? Ahsoka!? I'm home! Ahsoka?!" Lux called out.

 _She must not be home yet_.

He walked up to his room and turned the light on. There was an oak table that he sat at when he did office work, a door to a refresher, a holoscreen, a small balcony that looked out over the city, and a bed, which was circular with silk sheets and pillows that were designed with the artistic pattern of House Bonteri.

That's when he saw the most beautiful woman in the universe occupying his bed.

That woman was his girlfriend, Ahsoka Tano.

Ahsoka was laying on her side atop their bed. She continued to stare at him while she lay on her side in a sexy pose, smiling seductively.

Lux saw that she was wearing her post-Jedi outfit. It consisted of a dark gray sleeveless top. The latex bodysuit hugged her beautiful hourglass body very well, outlining her plump breasts perfectly. Ahsoka also wore a short black skirt that covered her upper thighs, while hugging her hips very well.

Other than the panties that she was wearing underneath the skirt, she didn't wear anything else. Her boots, gloves, and other accessories were piled up on the other side of the bed.

But what caught his attention, was the zipper fastener on the front of her suit. It was pulled down all the way to her bikini line, giving her a plunging v-neck that showed off her cleavage, her lean stomach, and her belly button. The unzipped teeth were caught on her coral-tipped breasts, which threatened to plop out of her suit if they moved too much.

The togrutan never was afraid of showing off her body in all of its womanly glory.

She was smiling seductively.

Lux froze.

"What took you so long Luxie?" She asked in a sexy voice before she got up and walked over to him. Her hips swayed as she walked, and the tips of her head tails swung lightly from side to side. Lux also noticed her breasts jiggling inside of her unzipped suit. "Don't you know that it's rude to keep a girl waiting?"

Lux smirked. Amazed, he stepped further into the room to get a closer look at the stunning view his girlfriend provided.

"I'm sorry Love, but may I remind you that I was in the Senate Building at work," he said as he coiled his arms around her hourglass figure.

"And I was on another planet. Yet somehow, I got here before you," Ahsoka quipped.

Lux chuckled.

"I see that being re-instated hasn't made you less snippy or feisty," Lux said as he pressed his forehead against her's.

"Let's be honest Luxie. You have it bad for me, so snippy and feisty must attract you," Ahsoka said.

Lux laughed. "I suppose that's _partially_ true," he said as he pressed his lips against Ahsoka's.

She used one of her hands to pull Lux deeper into the kiss. She moaned as she felt Lux's tongue slide into her mouth. She did the same, all the while opening her lips wider to let him further into her mouth. After a few minutes of making out, Ahsoka broke the kiss and took a few steps back.

They stared at each other

But Ahsoka wasn't meeting his gaze. she was looking at the tent that had formed over Lux's crotch.

"Now... take your clothes off, Luxie..." she said, "... _everything_ ".

Lux was frozen, with his eyes completely bugging out of their sockets. That was before he started frantically tearing at his clothes, as if he was afraid that she's change her mind and leave.

"Don't worry sweetheart," she promised sweetly, as if hearing his thoughts, "I won't be changing my mind". She raised her arms above her head, pushing her head-tails behind her shoulders before striking a sexy pose. Then she lowered her arms and ran her hands down her face, over her shoulders, and down to her breasts, which she started squeezing.

Once he was stripped of his garments, all thrown haphazardly around the room, Ahsoka crooked her fingers at him, motioning him to where she stood.

Lux eagerly rushed over to her, his cock hard and jutting up towards his toned stomach.

"Kiss me," she whispered, her breath coming out in a pant.

She didn't know if he obeyed her, or if she lunged towards him. But, either way, in the next seconds their mouths were fused together and their bodies flush. Lux gasped into her mouth as his cock brushed against her tight and toned stomach. His hands were on her leather covered waist.

Ahsoka stood on the balls of her feet and leaned into the kiss. As her plump breasts pressed against his naked torso, her hands wove through his luscious hair, messing up the hair style he wore.

Gasping for breath, she tore her mouth away from his, and Lux tilted his head down to feast on her neck instead, leaving soft and tender kisses on her smooth flesh. Since Ahsoka pushed her front two head tails behind her shoulders a few seconds ago, Lux had better access to her neck.

Ahsoka bit her lip and moaned in pleasure as her lover feasted on her orange flesh.

But still, she wanted more. Ahsoka reached down between his legs and grasped his hard and hot erection in her hand. Lux's lips ripped away from her neck with a wet smooching sound. He gasped out loudly, and leaned his head back as he felt her soft warm hand grasping him.

Lux moaned and lifted his hips to her, trying to grind on her, whispering her name in reverence. Ahsoka lowered her there hand to his balls and began to lightly tap them with two of her fingers. As she continued stroking his length, she felt him pulsate lightly in her hand and she slid her hand down to the base of his cock. "Not so soon, Luxie," she chided, "We haven't even started".

He lightly growled at her, but nodded just the same. Satisfied that he was still listening to her, She pressed her breasts against his chest, and her belly against his cock, and gave him a passionate, wet kiss.

After a few minutes of open mouth kissing, Lux broke the kiss to look at her. He continued to run his hands up and down her waist, but then they went up to her shoulders. They smiled at each other, and then Lux began to bend his knees and sink to the floor.

As he did, he began to trail his lips down the exposed parts of her body, leaving a trail of wet kisses down her v-neck. He kissed her neck, her collarbone, her cleavage and the valley in between, and then down her stomach.

He was rewarded with her playful giggling.

As he sank to his knees and began to kiss her stomach, his hands left her shoulders and began to roam her body in a sensual manner. They ran over her breasts and down her stomach before they rested on her hips. As he began to kiss her belly button, his hands went underneath her, and grasped her smooth, plump butt cheeks, which he began to squeeze through her purple panties.

As Ahsoka continued giggling, Lux reached to the side of her panties, undoing the bow that held them together, causing her panties to fall out from underneath her skirt and fall to the ground, before Lux began massaging her rump again.

Ahsoka's giggles turned into moans of pleasure, and she became more and more aroused as Lux continued to massage her rump, and kiss her belly. She placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed him away from her. He broke away from her stomach, still grasping her behind, and looked up at her.

She was looking down at him, and he up at her. They gazed lovingly into each other's eyes, and the passion between them continued to grow. But behind their passionate gaze, there was something far more primal that was yearning for a pleasurable release, and they would both go insane if they tried to suppress it.

* * *

Later that night, Galactic City was buzzing with activity.

Republic military transports continued to take off and land. Construction activity was underway, repairing the damage that was caused by the Separatist invasion. Couples, friends, wealthy celebrities, and families went out for a wild night out on the town.

The city was so loud in some places that it was hard for some people to hear themselves think.

But there was one sound that couldn't be drowned out no matter how high the volume.

In _500 Republica_ , behind one apartment room door, the moans and grunts of a certain senator and ex-Jedi could be heard...

Since this all began, Ahsoka had lost _all_ of the clothing that she'd used to seduce Lux earlier.

Ahsoka moaned as Lux thrusted into her. His thrusts were hard, rough but pleasurable. His hands held her hips with bruising force and he groaned as he pounded into her. Her legs encircled his waist and her nails dug into his skin. Her blue eyes were squeezed shut and moans of ecstasy escaped her hanging mouth. Sweat shined her entire body, making her glisten in the bright moon's glow.

As Lux quickened the pace of his rough thrusts, he buried his face into her chest, rubbing his cheeks back and forth between her breasts, before he left hard kisses on and between her cleavage, causing red blotches to form on her perfect melons. He then moved his hands up and started massaging Ahsoka's chest, before he buried his face into his lover's neck. Every breath he took filled his nose with the sweet and intoxicating scent of Ahsoka. With a pleasure filled moan he licked up her neck, tasting her. She was sweet and spicy, just as she always was.

"GUH! UUHH! By the force Ahsoka..." he moaned out. "I love you!"

She gasped and gripped him tighter, her nails digging deeper into his back and drawing tiny beads of blood. Her crotch was slick and slippery with wetness, and her montral's flushed a deep purple.

As Lux made her sore with pleasure, she couldn't help but moan loudly in ecstasy. She was fairly certain that she woke someone up already... in the underworld.

Suddenly, a spark of pleasure erupted in Ahsoka's body, making her forget all about her worries of being to loud. She cried out in ecstasy as she came again, and then again, and finally again, before arching her back and pressing her breasts up into her Lover's chest. Her fingers tangled themselves in his hair, and she tried her hardest not to rip his hair out of their very roots. Her toes curled and her entire body shook and trembled as she surrendered to her orgasm.

She gasped in pleasure as a tongue licked up her neck. "L..Lux," she whispered, feeling a sudden rush of Lux's life giving seed shooting up into her womb.

Lux groaned in pleasure before slumping down on top of her, his head using Ahsoka's breasts as pillows. His arms then wrapped around her waist, and her cuddled her, rubbing her cheeks even more strongly into her chest. Then, carefully, he reversed their position so that she laid on top of him.

They both sighed, and Ahsoka fell limp on Lux's chest.

But they weren't done yet.

Not even close.

* * *

Later in the night, as the two lovers continued their erotic escapade, Ahsoka began to slide down Lux's body, her stomach rubbing against his hard cock, letting him experience several wonderful sensations.

Ahsoka stopped when her breasts were smashed down against Lux's thighs.

He looked down to see her smiling up at him, blush fiercely, before her face was level with his 7 1/2 in' cock.

She then leaned over his crotch and opened her mouth. Ahsoka looked up at her lover and started bobbing her head up and down on Lux's cock.

"Uuuuhh," Lux sighed as he strokes Ahsoka's head-tails, making the orange teen alien moan into Lux's cock, sending vibrations along his shaft.

Ahsoka was starting off slow, but with each time she bobbed her head, she swallowed more and more of Lux's dick; she's now 5 inches down his 7 inch shaft, and not counting the occasional gag, she's doing the job like a pro. As she pleasured Lux, he had tilted his head back and began to moan and lightly gasp. The feeling of wet warmth closing around his shaft, caused a wonderful feeling down below.

"Ahsoka, can you use your tongue?" Lux asked his Lover.

Without saying a word, she granted his request by wrapping her tongue, which was longer than a humans, around his member. When it slithered around his dick a few times, she started bobbing her head up and down again.

Lux opened his mouth and sighed while slowly sinking his head back into the ground.

"UUhhhhhhh! Yeessssss," He said between moans, making Ahsoka's orange cheeks and blue Lekku stripes blush very deeply.

He gasped as he groaned in pleasure, his eyes rolling to the back of his skull. Ahsoka continued sucking for a few more moments, and every time she bobbed her head up and down, she moaned in a sexy way, and Lux gently gasped as his lover's hot, wet tongue stroked his hardened manhood. But then Lux felt his balls clench, and his erection started to pulsate. He raised his head again to look down at her.

"Ahsoka, I ... I think that I'm about to-," he froze before his eyes rolled up into his head. "-uuuuhhhh! Never mind," Lux said as he felt his balls clench and climax on the spot, unloading his cum into Ahsoka's mouth.

Lux leaned his head back again while groaning.

Ahsoka's eyes shot open in surprise as she suddenly began to taste the load that he was pumping into her mouth. She moaned in surprise and was forced to try and swallow as much of Lux's seed as she could, and did so excitedly. But there was too much being pumped into her mouth for Ahsoka to handle. Lux's cum began to leak out of the corners of her mouth and run down her chin.

As Lux continued to climax, he involuntarily buckled his hips, thrusting his dick up and down into her mouth until it was deep in her throat. It brushed against her uvula and began to shoot his seed directly down her throat, which caused her gag and tear up.

She opened her mouth to let go of his member, causing streams of Lux's seed to spray onto her face and tits as she withdrew her mouth. She was able to swallow all of Lux's whole load... except for the droplets that got onto her face, on her nose, on her eyelids, and down her cheeks and chin. Lux sat back up to see if she was okay.

"Ahsoka, are you alright?" Lux asked with concern.

Ahsoka put a hand out to assure him, all while she still coughed. "I'm fine Lux, I-," She coughed a little bit more. She got off of him and went into the refresher. She turned the faucet on and cupped her hands to collect the water. She bent down and took a sip, cleaning her throat out.

Lux was standing behind her.

"Are you alright, Ahsoka?" He asked as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

She began to wash her face.

"I'm fine Lux. I just need to get used to how _big_ you are," she said when she looked back up at him before leaning back against the counter.

Lux smirked and stepped closer. He reached out and held her chin to make her look up at him. "You're improving. Maybe one day you'll be able to do it without withdrawing your mouth".

Ahsoka smiled seductively. Then she stepped closer and kissed him on the lips.

"Now let's go back to bed," Lux said while pulling Ahsoka's hand. But she pulled back.

"Wait, before we continue," she said before she turned around and looked through a drawer behind her. Ahsoka pulled two disks from inside the drawer. Then she took two more out and tossed them to Lux.

Lux looked at them with interest. "What are these?" He asked, and carefully examined the smooth surface of the cool metal.

Place them on the backs of your hands like so," Ahsoka explained, putting the disks on the backs of her own hands.

Lux did the same, and the small disks sucked themselves to his skin. he shook his hands a little to test the disks, and made sure that they couldn't fall off. Then he looked at his lover.

"Tap its top." Ahsoka continued to demonstrate. "And then ... "

"Whoah!", Lux exclaimed. he had just tapped the top of the small disk, as per Ahsoka's instructions, and his whole hand had started to vibrate. He quickly tapped it again, and it stopped.

He looked at Ahsoka for an answer. She was smiling mischievously.

"What ... what are these?"

"Sex toys."

"Sex ... "

Lux gawked at the small disk, and then at Ahsoka.

She was smiling seductively with her hands clasped together in front of her by her midsection. "I just want to have a little fun Luxie", she said with a pouty look as she gently swung her hips back and forth.

Lux's shocked expression turned into a smile before he grabbed Ahsoka's hand again and began to pull her back towards the bed.

This time she followed.

"Then let's go have fun."

* * *

Ahsoka moaned softly.

"Uh, L-Lux ... Mmh ... oh!"

.

She straddled Lux's waist in the reverse cowgirl position, as he laid down on the bed beneath her. Lux was sitting up and hugging her from behind, massaging both of the fiery tits with both hands.

They were soft, they were very, very soft - well, except for their tips; her nipples were rock hard. Ahsoka was also riding Lux's hips, slowly bouncing up and down on his hardened, pulsating cock.

They both gasped as they continued in this position.

Lux continued to vigorously knead Ahsoka's plump breasts, pinching the dark orange nipples that really were hard as rock. The orange togruta twitched and gasped above him, while still riding his cock.

He could feel the pleasure spread from Ahsoka's chest and midsection, into her soft body, and up into her brain. It all continued to excite him, which he showed her by continuing to thrust up into her.

Ahsoka continued making lewd noises as Lux used his vibrating hands to massage her breasts, and ride his hips.

"L-luuuxx ... I ... haaaah ... Ah! Uuh!"

Ahsoka moaned as her body shook again. Without her knowledge, Lux had taken one of her disks from her hand and placed it on his scrotum, and turned the vibration up a bit. His erection was now vibrating deep inside of her. And she really was enjoying it.

Her body shook once more.

"The vibrations!" She complained. "P-please... stop the vibe-raaahh! I can't ... nah! Haaah!"

Lux whispered against her Lekku while still massaging her breasts, and thrusting into her nether regions. "Shhhh! Just one more my love. Cum for me just one more time, and it will all be over."

"I... I... ghnh!"

Ahsoka let out a soft moan, and tried to roll away. But Lux held her firmly. All Ahsoka could do was prop herself up by putting her hands behind her, as her walls tightened around Lux's vibrating member, and began to pump her juices onto Lux's member, which began to pulsate.

Lux closed his eyes and groaned, as his throbbing member began to pump his life giving seed into her body,and shoot it up into her womb.

"Guh ... Uhhhh! That's a good girl," Lux said before he lied back and plopped his head down into the pillow, all while holding Ahsoka's hips, keeping her from going to far.

When they were finished orgasming, Ahsoka collapsed onto her side, before being drawn into Lux's possessive and loving embrace, before they eventually drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

But even though their slumber was peaceful, certain parts of the planet weren't.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant._

In front of the senate building, thousands of people were protesting.

They held signs that had different slogans on them.

 _"Scholarship. Not Dictatorship!"_

 _"Dalyell=Fascist!"_

 _"Jedi are Baby-killers"_

 _"Stop Cloning Violence"_

One particularly hefty individual held up a sign, demanding that his food stamps be funded again.

Clone Shadow Troopers held their ground.

This was peaceful, compared to other parts of Coruscant. It was more rioting and more civil disobedience.

Businesses and homes were broken into and looted. Buildings were set ablaze.

Property owners had to fight with laser bolts and fist to protect their families and fortunes.

Depending on how violent the mob was, Clone Troopers were sent in to either stun the rioters, or put them down.

* * *

 _Coruscant Underworl_ _d_.

Deep in the Coruscant underground in Level 1313, a mysterious figure was standing with a group of revolutionaries in a room. The revolutionaries were wearing all-black and had handkerchiefs and goggles over their faces to conceal their ID (basically Antifa). They were about to make a trade off with the mysterious figure.

The figure presented the group with stacks of crates, filled with blasters and grenades. The figure even passed over a box.

The leader of the militants grabbed it. He opened it. It was full of credits.

"Excellent. But we'll be needing more of this. And more of those," he said, pointing at the crates full of weapons.

"Don't worry," the figure said, in a female voice with an accent (British accent). "My employers will provide you with everything you need... and then some".

That's when they heard the buzzing of an engine. Then several engines. They were all outside. Then bright flood lights began to shine through the windows.

One of the militants peaked through the blinds and saw Clone Troopers, wearing white and red armor, ride in on BARC speeders and LAAT/i Gunships. The Gunships hovered about 50 feet off the ground. Troopers rappelled down from the gunship. They set up a perimeter around the building.

"Awh stang! It's the Coruscant Guard!" The militant said.

" _This is the GAR! We have reason to believe that this house is being used to conceal known revolutionaries and enemies of the Republic. Come out with your hands up. You have 5 seconds to comply,_ " the clone shouted.

As the Clone officer began counting down, the militants began to move to their positions.

They gathered on the roof and in the windows.

Suddenly, red muzzles flashes appeared all over the building, raining down on the Republic forces.

Several clones fell.

The gunships flashed the building with search lights. They illuminated the building. This allowed Republic forces to find their targets and suppress the building with a hell storm of blue blaster fire.

Militants were shot up and gunned down. As the enemy fire thinned out, a squad of Coruscant Guardsmen ran up to the front door. They stacked up on the door and placed an explosive charge on it.

When the door was blown open, the clones rushed in with all guns blazing.

Blue flashes could be seen from the windows from other buildings if one looked at the building from the other side of the street.

As the clones secured the building, some militants tried to get out through the back door.

A group of clones that were securing the area out back spotted them.

"Stop! Freeze!" One clone shouted.

The militants tried to run, but they were either stunned or tackled to the ground.

Every captured militant was put in binders and dragged to the nearest speeder that would take them to prison.

The cloaked figure tried to get away.

She stuck to the shadows to avoid the clone trooper patrols. But unfortunately for her, the Clone perimeter stretched out further than she thought. She ran into a patrol of Clone Troopers. She decided to go up to the checkpoint, ready to use a mind trick on the clones.

But she miscalculated. The minute they saw her, her plan popped like a balloon.

"Halt. Hands where I can see 'em, or we will fire on you!" He ordered.

"Very well," she said.

She raised her hands. She used a force push to shove all of the clones to the ground. Then, she ignited a double-ended red lightsaber. She spun it like a propellor and charged. When she was close enough, the melee began. She cut several clones apart.

But they weren't going down that easy. The remaining clone troopers activated an energy baton. They were inspired by the electro staffs used by Grievous's bodyguards during the clone wars. If the Separatists had a way of fighting Jedi, then the Republic should have the same ability should the need arise.

They ganged up on her, swinging their batons. She parried with them. But she was a better fighter. She killed a few of the troopers. But the rest were still in the fight. The figure smiled and spun the blade again.

But as she made another charge, she was heavily electrocuted.

"AAAHHHH!" She screamed as blue electricity flowed through her body. Then she fell to the ground, unconscious.

That's when several figures appeared out of no where. They were a squad of Clone Shadow Troopers, which were apart of the Republic's spec ops branch. They were cloaked the entire time and armed with the DC-19 'stealth' carbine. It was a suppressed weapon that fired invisible laser bolts.

"Nice work troopers." The lead Shadow Trooper said to the Coruscant guardsmen. Then he looked down at the unconscious figure. "Now let's see who she is".

One trooper took the figure's mask off. It revealed a mirilian woman with olive green skin and diamond tattoos on her nose and cheeks.

"Well holy shit. What do we have here?" The clone said.

"Is that who I think it is?"

"Yup. Put her in binders, throw her in the speeder and take her to Prison," he ordered.

"Yes Sir," a trooper said.

The woman was put in binders and thrown into transport.

* * *

The woman was flown to the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center, the most heavily guarded prison in Republic space.

She was escorted off of the ship under heavy guard.

An officer was there to great her.

He mockingly bowed to her and spoke.

"Welcome back to Hell, Barriss Offee".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Council Chamber, Jedi Temple_.

High above the vast stretching cityscape of Coruscant, in the towering sires of the Jedi Temple, the members of the Jedi Council convened to discuss the topic at hand.

Yoda and eleven other Jedi Council members sat around the semi-circle.

Some of the masters, being spread across the galaxy assist in the occupation of the post-war outer rim, had to attend via hologram. They were speaking to a hologram of Armand Isard, the head of Republic intelligence. Isard was fair-skinned, with blue eyes and black-colored hair that had a white stripe running through it. He also wore an all red officer's uniform.

"You captured a Sith agent?" Obi-Wan Kenobi asked, surprised.

 _"Yes, Master Jedi_ ," he said. " _It's the Jedi Temple bomber, Barriss Offee. She was giving weapons and credits to the revolutionaries that live underground. We caught her trying to escape one of the checkpoints we've set up down there_."

They all looked at each other. They were concerned. The uprisings and riots that sprung up throughout the core was common knowledge. But the fact that a Sith agent was involved was highly disturbing.

"Thank you, director. Keep her under constant surveillance, and contact us if she reveals anything." Mace Windu said.

Director Isard nodded before his hologram fizzled out, leaving the Jedi to discuss things in private.

"Mmmmmm. Disturbing knowledge this is. If the Sith are involved, then executing his next moves Darth Sidious is". Yoda said.

Obi-Wan stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"Assuming that Sidious is planning his next moves, how does he have that kind of power.

"A significant portion of the Republic Senate and officers corps are on his side _,"_ Master Mundi said _. "_ He could try to sew the seeds of chaos within us. _"_

" _That's right. Palpatine knows that the Republic, and the Jedi, are unpopular after we removed him from power. And with our...*clears throat*...extreme measures in the outer rim recently, that's true now more than ever_ ," Master Shaak Ti said.

"And sense he still has influence in the Republic, even in exile, he'll be seen as a hero. People will start to gravitate towards him," Plo Koon said.

" _Does that mean that we're lookng at another Revolution? Or worse... another civil war like the Clone Wars?"_ Master Fisto asked.

"I'm not sure," Master Windu said. He turned to Master Yoda, who was silent. "What do you think master Yoda?"

"Hmmm. Uncertain I am. The shroud of the dark-side is growing. Clouded everything is. Difficult to say it is," the grand master said as he tapped the bottom of his cane on the ground a few times.

"Well if Palpatine does plan on ripping the Republic apart from within, then we need to find people and allies that we can trust, and then be ready when Sidious does make his next move" Windu said. "Until then, this council is adjourned".

Everyone began to file out of the room.

Obi-Wan walked over to the windows. He stroked his beard as he contemplated.

"Master Kenobi. Sensing conflict within you I do. What troubles you?" Yoda asked as he wobbled over.

"Master... I've been thinking about the future recently. I've had premonitions. Premonitions that show me about the fall of the Republic. I see fire. Bodies. And..." he inhaled, "...I see Anakin at the center of it all."

"A grim future I see as well, young Obi-Wan," Yoda said. "But as for Anakin, the boy you trained, consumed by fear he is. Corrupted by Sidious, and consumed by the dark side he may be. Do what you can if he see him again. But do what you must if the time comes you will".

And then Obi-Wan thought of a vision of Anakin, which he saw in his premonitions.

" _I HATE YOU!_!" Anakin screamed at him.

" _There is still good in him,_ " Padme said before she died.

Then he snapped back into reality.

"Yes Master."

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **That's part 28, folks.**

 **I hope you enjoyed.**

 **I'll be working on part 29 soon.**


	29. Chapter 29-Return

**Have no fear, Grubkiller is here.**

 **Hey folks, here's part 29 of my story, Fall of the Republic'.**

 **It's going to be Sith centered.**

 **Read,** **enjoy, and review.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Beshqek system, Galactic core, Planet Byss' orbit, Secret Sith facility_.

Byss.

A mythic paradise world enshrouded in the dark side of the Force, located within the isolated and nearly inaccessible Deep Galactic Core. It's the fifth planet of the Beshqek system and orbiting the star of the same name; it was one of two habitable planets in the system, the other being Relus The planet was orbited by five moons, which had little influence on its tides, but were all heavily militarized.

The planet itself was one of the most reclusive and heavily guarded worlds in the galaxy. Most natural routes into the Deep Core were mined and the rest were covered by a Hyperspace Security Net—a system of gravity well projectors and hyperwave transceivers designed to monitor and control traffic into and out of the Deep Core. As a fortress world, Byss was guarded by a number of security forces and technologies, all of which were overseen by Byss Security itself. The Byss Security Zone, a restricted area of space around Byss, was guarded by a ring of gray colored Venator-Class Star Destroyers, while an entire sector fleet was additionally spread throughout the Beshqek system. A METOSP, or "Message To Spacers," was broadcast to all travelers entering the system as a warning against trespassing (who were killed anyway to keep the system a secret). Gargantuan Hunter-Killer probots were responsible for patrolling the skies above Byss, and were used as capture and detainment platforms for unauthorized ships. The planet itself was surrounded by a planetary shield controlled by Byss Security, and a system of Gauntlet Scanner Stations were used to monitor traffic around the planet.

The Gauntlet Scanner Stations comprised of many Golan III Space Defense Nova Gun platforms orbiting Byss, where security personnel would coordinate space traffic with the scanner satellites spread over the planet. Officers stationed aboard these platforms typically oversaw the daily operation of the Byss Security Zone by monitoring IFF transponder codes, security codes, and other forms of authorization used to control traffic to and from the surface of Byss. If any traveler was found possessing forged documents, the Star Destroyers guarding Byss had authorization to use lethal force against them. The Gauntlet Scanner Stations additionally served as orbital defense platforms for Byss, boasting firepower equal to some capital ships, and also housed squadrons of star-fighters and other defensive forces.

On the surface of Byss, surveillance and a heavy military presence were both commonplace. Spaarti-clone stormtroopers were stationed at every street corner, each landing pad was guarded by an ARC-170 starfighter, and undercover agents were present at most of the planet's public areas to watch out for any potential traitors. Additionally, shipyards, fighter bases, and military barracks large enough to hold an entire army were present all across the Byss Control Sector. All of these complexes were camouflaged behind colorful plazas and public buildings, themselves armed with the latest defense turbolasers and shock fields.

In a large great black and red-tinted tower at the center of Byss' throne city, Darth Sidious' throne room stood at the center of it all.

The Imperial citadel had dark side Sith alchemical laboratories, a Great Hall, a war room, and libraries filled with dark side texts.

Palpatine's chamber was itself guarded by Red cloaked Royal Guardsmen, who were force adepts that were proficient with with a vast array of melee weapons that allowed them to fight lightsaber users, whether they be Jedi or potentially rogue Sith. They would fight to the death for their lord and master. Even against Sidious' new apprentice.

At his fingertips was an exiled Empire, a collection of Separatist holdouts that refused to give up, and a platform from which to spread his dogmatic rhetoric across the Galaxy.

That propaganda solidified his base of support, which also included just over 50 percent of the Republic Senate. And since Dalyell's approval rating was rising thanks to former CIS worlds, many Republic core worlds have been left disenfranchised by Dalyell, and called for his resignation, and his replacement by a strongman.

And since they thought that Palpatine was their voice for a strong, and more centralized government, he knew that they wanted him back. But in reality, they were nothing but "useful idiots". Merely pawns helping the king advance towards his agenda.

The Dark Lord of the Sith smiled as he contemplated the future of the Galaxy.

 _His Galaxy_.

That's when someone entered the chamber from the elevator.

He knew who it was. He sensed his presence through the force.

It was the Grand Inquisitor.

When he tried to exit the elevator, he was blocked when two guardsmen cross their staff in an X shape, denying him entry into Sidious's chamber.

"Let him pass," Palpatine ordered without turning to face them.

The mute guards stood aside, allowing the Grand Inquisitor to enter the room.

The Utapuan Sith warrior walked up the stairs and came to within 10 paces of the thrown before kneeling before the Dark Lord.

"You summoned me, my lord?" the Inquisitor said.

"Yes. According to my sources within Republic Intelligence, one of our newest assassins, Barriss Offee, has been captured by Republic special forces. They are going to interrogate her soon. She could reveal our plans to the Republic, which I shouldn't have to remind you is unacceptable. I want you to send another agent behind enemy lines and either free her, or silence her." Sidious said coldly.

The Inquisitor bowed. "Yes my lord."

"I also want to know, where is Lord Vader?" Darth Sidious said.

He continued to look out the viewport when the Inquisitor spoke.

"My Master. Lord Vader is on Nal Hutta, negotiating with the Hutts," the Inquisitor reported.

"Very well. As soon as possible, patch me through to him. I have a new mission for him," Sidious said. "Until then, you are dismissed".

"Yes my Lord," the Inquisitor said before bowing and leaving.

Sidious continued to look out over the system. The Fleet has been gathered here for a couple years. They were secret fleets, filled with legions of Spaarti-grown Jango Fett clones, that he had hidden away during the latter stages of the Clone Wars. They were loyal to him, and him alone.

They were not just guarding Palpatine's secret base. They were protecting something else. It was an unfinished space station. The frame of which looked like an unfinished sphere. It had the circumference of a moderately sized moon. One day, it would be another instrument to his reign.

Palpatine continued to contemplate the future.

The remnants of the Ancient Sith and their Empire have been in exile for over a thousand years, thought to have been destroyed by the Republic and their Jedi attack dogs.

In reality, they've been biding their time.

They adapted.

They overcame.

They grew.

They prospered.

And thanks to Sidious and the CIS cutting out the disease of idleness that controlled the exiled empire _(A/N: Read my story, 'Clash of the Sith Lords' for more info)_ , they now followed him without question, and would soon have their revenge.

 _The galaxy will thank us for what we do next, and then they'll do as we say_.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Y'Toub system, Hutt space_.

The large brown planet of Nal Hutta emerges from a total eclipse. Her moon, Nar Shadda, glows against the darkness.

It seemed like a peaceful image. That's when a tiny silver and red spacecraft, a Republic consular-class corvette, starts desperately firing blue lasers from the small cannons on its hull. It races through the atmosphere, pursed by a giant triangle-shaped Star-destroyer. The tiny blue laser blasts are merely absorbed by the larger ship's pwerful shields. Hundreds of deadly green laser-bolts streak from the Star-destroyer, causing the main solar fin of the Republic craft to disintegrate.

Explosions rock the ship. Passengers struggle to make their way through the shaking, bouncing passageway. Another series of blasts shake them as they struggle along their way.

Clone security troopers rush past the passengers and take up defensive positions in the main passageway. They aim their weapons at the door.

Tension mounts as loud metallic latches clank and the scream of heavy equipment are heard moving around the outer hull of the ship. Outside, the small Republic craft is easily overtaken by the much larger triangular gray ship. The smaller Republic ship is being drawn into the underside dock of the giant triangle starship.

Back inside, the nervous Clone troopers continue to aim their weapons. For a second, the sounds of heavy machinery stop.

For a moment, nothing could be heard.

Suddenly a tremendous blast opens up a hole in the main passageway. Shrapnel is sent everywhere, bouncing off of the armor of the Clone Troopers. Through the smoke that has overtaken the passageway, a score of armored stormtroopers, who wear armor that is identical to the puzzled Clone Troopers, make their way into the corridor. In a few seconds the entire passageway is ablaze with laserfire. The deadly red and blue bolts ricochet in wild random patterns, causing large sparks to blast everywhere, and leave scorch marks everywhere. Stormtroopers scatter and duck behind storage lockers. Laserbolts hit several soldiers on both sides, who scream and stagger through the smoke, holding shattered arms and faces.

Seconds later, a cloaked figure makes his way into the blinding light of the main passageway. His scarred face is obscured by his flowing black robes, which stands out next to the armored suits worn by both sides of the fighting.

The Stormtroopers instinctively back away from the mysterious and unsettling presence of this warrior and a deathly quiet sweeps through the Republic troopers.

The Clone troopers trained their weapons on the new figure when he started raising one of his hands. Their bodies were suddenly lifted into the air. They dropped their rifles and held their throats as they are being choked to death.

Several of the remaining clones broke ranks and ran in a frenzied panic.

This was originally supposed to be a routine diplomatic mission to Hutt Space. The ship carried diplomats that were experts in the region, and travelled with a light clone escort. But with the attack on the ship from a massive warship, their transmissions jammed, and with the presence of this new, dark figure, the fate of the Republic corvette's crew was sealed.

* * *

Later, as the Star-Destroyer let the burning husk of the Republic diplomatic ship fall of its lower hanger, and burn up in the planet's atmosphere before exploding, the mysterious figure that led the boarding party took to the surface to go on his mission.

* * *

On the planet Nal Hutta, deep in its hot and foggy bogs and swamps, a pair of Jawas were in the middle of an encampment, working on a GONK droid that they bartered for in a nearby trading post. One of the hooded Jawas was inspecting the droid, as it sparked with blue energy. The other Jawa chattered in his native tongue, scolding his companion. They clearly got a raw deal when they traded for this droid.

As one of the Jawas banged on the droid in a frustrated manner, the other one noticed a new figure walking up to them while activating a blue lightsaber. The mysterious figure swung it through the screaming Jawa, the droid, and his friend. They all lay dead and smoking at the figure's feet.

The figure was Darth Vader. Dark Lord of the Sith, supreme commander of the Emperor's legions, and the right hand of Darth Sidious himself.

The man that was once Anakin Skywalker deactivated his lightsaber and looked around.

Darth Vader hated this place.

Every part of this planet gave him a feeling of anger and disgust. It was a slimy ball of mud and parasites, and was run by the same type of corruption that forced him and his mother into slavery.

It was where Gardulla the Hutt's palace was. She was the Hutt that once owned Anakin and his mother. And it was in slavery that he met the Jedi, who used him as a slave, for much longer. But it was also in Slavery where he met his beautiful wife, who he would see again once the galaxy was liberated from the Jedi puppet masters of the Republic.

He never wanted to ever go anywhere that ever stunk of these slimy pieces of work ridden filth. Now he was hear upon hs master's orders. Though, Sidious must've sent Vader here to stoke the flames of hatred and pain deep within his soul.

But no matter.

He was here to speak to someone that his master wanted as a necessary ally.

Someone that Vader hated: a disgusting Hutt slime known as Jabba the Hutt. He was the leader of the Hutt Family, a powerful criminal family that owned almost 1/5 of the galaxy, and some of the most important trade routes in the outer rim.

At the end of the Clone Wars, Hutt space was ravaged by a cataclysmic event that destroyed many of the cities on Nal Hutta, killing several prominent members of the Hutt family and the center of their financial and political power. This sudden blow to Hutt space caused a civil war between Jabba the Hutt, and his rivals, in which he barely managed to scrape. Right now, the Hutts were just a skeleton of what they used to be. And at this moment, the Republic military was conducting operations in the region to destroy small Separatist holdouts that ignored the cease fire.

Darth Sidious wanted the Hutts to drive the Republic out of its territory (diplomatically). It was apart of the Sith Lord's plan. It called for the Republic be be pushed out of the outer rim, and become isolated to the core and colonies.

That was why Vader was here on Nal Hutta.

The Dark Lord's com-link began to chirp. He grabbed it from his utility belt and brought it in front of his face. He pressed the answer button and activated it. A small hologram of his master, Darth Sidious, materialized in front of him. The Sith Lord was sitting on his throne, looking at him. Vader kneeled respectfully as he still held the hologram in front of his face.

"What is thy bidding, my Master?" Vader asked as he lowered his head.

 _"I sense that you have just arrived on Nal Hutta. Just in time to intercept the Republic's diplomatic mission I hope, my apprentice?_ " Sidious asked.

"Yes, my master," Vader said.

" _As I expected,_ " Sidious said. " _You will proceed to the palace of Gardulla the Hutt. Jabba's criminal empire, weak as it may be on that pitiful speck of slime, will serve our cause. He will allow us access to his territory and allow us to hire his bounty hunters. If he proves to be uncooperative, kill them all_ ," Sidious ordered.

"I will not fail you, master," Vader said.

" _Mmmh, we shall see,_ " Sidious said before the transmission was terminated.

Darth Vader placed his holo-disk back on his belt before he began to make his way through the swamps of Nal Hutta. He could see a temple like structure in the distance. As he continued to trek through the muddy bog, and run along the side of a cliff that overlooked the swamp, his com-piece beeped in his ear. He answered it.

" _My lord, this is... Captain Berrus,_ " said the voice of a hesitant imperial officer. " _Lord Sidious has instructed me to... assist you as needed."_

"Very well, Captain..." Vader as he continued to rush across the cliffside. "...proceed."

 _"Yes, my lord. It appears that you've already discovered an encampment of Jawas. Disgusting creatures,_ " Berrus said, clearly repulsed.

Darth Vader rushed through the camp, made of small shacks that were made of scrap metal, and came face to face with a couple dozen Jawas. They knew that he wasn't here for any good. So they decided to try and teach him a lesson for trespassing. They rushed out of their little shacks with blowtorches and homemade hand grenades. Several reprogrammed battle droids activated and marched towards Vader. They began to open fire on Vader.

He ignited his blue lightsaber and went to work, deflecting their blast bolts.

Several Jawas fell from their own droid's fire power. Some Jawas tried to toss their homemade detonators. But before they could reach Vader and detonate, he made them freeze midair. That's when they flew back and exploded into the battle droids, and their recharging stations. The explosion caused several fuel canisters to be set ablaze, spreading fire across the camp.

One final Jawa tried to swing at Vader's legs with his blowtorch. But Vader merely used the force to lift the little creature's head into his one flesh palm. As it struggled in his hand, Vader used force lightning to make energy coarse through his hand and into the Jawa's head. When it stopped kicking and screaming, Vader used the force to throw the Jawa into the swamp, where it was eventually feasted upon by a swamp creature.

 _"Excellent work, Lord Vader. Now you must get passed the scavenger ship blocking your path to the palace._ " Captain Berrus said.

Vader walked in front of the ship and used the force to push the ship out of the way. It slid against the muddy surface and tipped over into the bog. The path was now clear for Darth Vader to pass.

Moments later, as Vader walked closer and closer to the palace, red dots began to wave across his chest. He looked down and saw them waving around. Realizing that he was in danger, he force dashed to the side just in time to avoid the incoming laser bolts.

 _"Lord Vader. Enemy snipers are nearby. They've taken position in the trees on either side of the road to the palace._ " Berrus said.

Vader deflected several incoming laser bolts, causing them to hit the Kento snipers. One was hit in the face, knocking him off of his perch.

"Do not fail to warn me again, captain." Vader threatened.

" _Ye-y-yes... my lord_ ," Berrus said.

Vader went back to work, dodging and deflecting sniper blasts. One by one, the snipers fell. One more was inside of the domed tower next to the palace. Vader picked up a rock, shocked it with electricity, and threw it at the tower. The domed top exploded in a ball of electricity.

When he was done, nothing happened.'

All was quiet.

He walked up to the massive metal door that served as the palace's main entrance. Before he could do anything, a robot eye shot out of the door in front of Vader's face. As it began to speak to Vader in huttese. But Vader didn't care what t was saying. He chopped the robot eye's mewl arm. The severed machine fell to the ground.

Vader deactivated his saber and raised his hands. He tapped into the power of the force and caused the door to bend to his will. The door creaked and began to rise up into the wall above. When it was open enough, Vader force dashed into the palace's main entrance. The door dropped behind him, and he stood inside of the hall, seemingly alone.

That's when a voice, speaking in Huttese, boomed out over the hall as a heavy metal door at the end of the hall closed behind a group of Gamorrean guards.

 _"Intruder! You come here to steal from the Hutt clans? Guards, kill that fool!_ "

The pig-like guards charged at Vader with their heavy clubs and axes. It was a mistake, as Vader began to cut through the guards with ease.

" _Incredible,_ " said the voice of Jabba the Hutt over the palace's PA system. He was impressed by how the new figure was just cutting through his guards without breaking a sweat.

Vader raised his hand and shot lightning at a group of guards. They were all barbecued by the Sith lord's power. Their smoking corpses fell to the ground, and their comrades continued to step over them to charge at Vader. He then used the force to trip over several guards. One fell right in front of him. Vader than plunged his blade into the Gamorrean with one hand, as he raised his other hand to use the force to push the remaining guards away.

 _"Nice work_." Jabba said over the PA.

Vader raised both hands and lifted every remaining guard. They all struggled to breath as Vader crushed their throats with a power that was invisible to the creatures around him. When they all stopped struggling, Vader dropped all of them, leaving him to stand above a score of dead guards.

That's when the door at the end of the hall from earlier began to open. Vader activated his saber, anticipating a new wave of guards.

But none came.

Instead, Vader again heard Jabba's voice over the PA system.

 _"Intruder, come downstairs. I mean you no harm. We'll discuss business together"_.

Vader deactivated his saber and slowly walked down the hall, and into the doorway.

At least he was let inside.

* * *

Vader walked into the main council chamber, where all of the members of the most powerful Hutt families met. Guests from various species filled the room, enjoying the party that their hosts were throwing.

The chamber was also filled with scantily clad twi'lek women, of different skin colors, who danced and served drinks. They weren't even trying to hide their bodies, as some wore very tight tops that gave others an unhindered view of their breasts. Some wore translucent skirts, with nothing underneath, and no tops whatsoever to cover their boobs.

The disgusting slug sat on his dais, in the middle of his throne room.

He was surrounded by gammorrian guards and visitors, which included bounty hunters and other crime lords.

They all watched the showdown of the century.

The Dark Lord versus the Crime Lord.

Vader walked into the room and up to the Dias.

A bronze-plated protocol droid, TC-70, spoke up. "The mighty and benevolent Jabba would like to offer-," she tried to say before Vader used the force to shut her down. The droid tipped over in complete silence.

"(HO-HO-HO-HO! I admire your style, Jedi scum)!" Jabba said in Huttese, insultingly, thinking that Vader was a Jedi due to the blue saber. "(I could make a man of your talents very wealthy)."

Vader ignored the barbs, opting to get right down to business.

"As I'm sure you know by now Jabba, your criminal empire is just a shadow if its former self. Now the Republic is moving through your territory for their own gain," Vader said.

"(What are you getting at Jedi?)" Jabba asked in his native tongue.

"The center of your empire was ravaged by Darth maul. Your territory is too vast and expensive to maintain. The Republic left you to be ravaged by civil war, and they are now only here to use you. They don't respect you," Vader said.

"(And why should I listen to you?)" Jabba asked.

"Because, when we send the Republic to its grave, we are going to build a new galaxy. And you can be apart of it... _if_ you agree to my master's demands," Vader said.

"(Oh I'm sure we can come to some kind of agreement)," Jabba said as he slowly reached for a button on his dais. It was for a trap door beneath Vader's feet.

Vader took a step back.

Jabba's eyes flared up in surprise. He then felt pressure put on his neck. He gagged and choked as Vader slowly crushed his windpipe. Some of the scantily clad servant girls, who had been massaging the crime lord, cringed with disgust before they stepped back, half expecting Jabba to explode and get slime everywhere.

Jabba's bounty hunters and bodyguards aimed their weapons at Vader.

"(Alright Alright. Tell me what you want!)" Jabba coughed out.

Vader released his grip.

Jabba breathed in and out.

The bounty hunters lowered their weapons.

"First, you are going to demand that the Republic pull its forces out of Hutt space. Second, you are going to give us military access. Third, your bounty hunters are going to serve us whenever we need them. Forth, you will give us a sizable amount of your slave population for our own uses. And finally, when the Republic is crushed, you are going to cede northern, southern, and western Hutt space to my master's New Empire. And in return, we will allow you to live... and continue conducting your business within your own borders," Vader said.

For a few moments, Jabba contemplated the offers and demands that Vader just made.

His answer could mean the end of Jabba and possibly the Hutt's Criminal Empire. Or it could mean the continued existence of his crumbling Empire.

"(Deal)," he finally said.

* * *

Later, Vader went outside to board an awaiting shuttle. But before he boarded. He received a message from Darth Sidious. He kneeled before a hologram of his master.

" _Lord Vader, have you finished negotiating with the Hutts?_ " He asked.

"Yes, master," Vader said.

" _Then you are ready for my next mission. I want you to come back to Byss. Send a message to your inquisitors. I want them to start assassinating senators that are either anti-war, a populist, or a supporter of Dalyell. We will start thinning out our opposition, and send the Republic on a collision coarse with their downfall."_

Vader nodded. "Yes master."

 _"Then you will link up with an armada of Imperial warships. When I give the word, you will infiltrate Coruscant and attack the Jedi Temple. Kill everyone inside._ "

Vader looked up, surprised by the ambitious plan that his master was undertaking.

"But what about the Coruscant defense fleet, and the other Jedi spread throughout the galaxy?"

Sidious smiled.

 _"Do not worry, Lord Vader. Their treachery will be dealt with"_.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Republic space station, in orbit above Korriban, ancient home world of the Sith, Tion Cluster, somewhere in the NE outer rim_.

Korriban.

The home-world of the Sith.

Final resting place of Darth Bane, the creator of the famed Rule of Two.

Ever since the Clone Wars ended, and Palpatine was revealed to be a Sith Lord, the Republic has been setting up shop on former Sith planets to do a little artifact hunting. They wanted to keep the Sith from getting their hands on anything they could use against the Republic. With the Sith on the rise out there, there was no telling what type of power the ancients could provide for them. Which was why the Republic didn't want anyone getting their hands on it, especially independent smugglers who might sell it to the highest bidder.

On a Republic space station orbiting the planet, two Jedi, Satele Shan her zabrak master, Kao Cen Darach, along with Clone Commander Tex and a squad of clone troopers, were escorting one such smuggler named Nico Okarr.

"I'm telling you, I had no idea what was in those crates. I'm innocent," the Cad Bane hat wearing smuggler said as he was marched down the corridor by his captors.

"You were smuggling Sith artifacts out of Republic controlled territory, captain," Master Darach said, somewhat annoyed and uninterested.

Okarr rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Keep the artifacts. Just give me back my ship," he said.

That's when he caught the sight of a beautiful light blue twi'lek wearing tight clothing. He looked over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of her tightly outlined rump.

One of the Clone Troopers shoved him. "Eyes front". He ordered with a gruff voice.

"Just inspecting the troops corporal," Okarr said under his breath, smarting off.

* * *

Deep in the Republic's orbital facility, a blue Rutian Twi'lek, who wore tight leather clothing, and wore light armor plates over her curvaceous assets, walked through the corridors.

Her name was Eleena Daru.

She was an undercover agent working for the Sith.

But long before that, she was a slave. Her former master had abused her since she was small, and until she was in her late teens. But then one day, she was freed by her new master, and lover, Darth Malgus.

And because she was freed, she had a life debt to her new master. One that she intended to repay in full.

Even though, deep down, she knew that she was harming others.

But... such is life.

When she was in a secluded spot, away from the Republic military personnel, she reached for her com-link and spoke into it.

"My Lord, the base's long-range communications and scanners have both been disabled. You are clear to begin the assault."

" _Affirmative, Agent Daru, Stand-by_ ".

She smiled, and stepped out into the corridor when no one was looking, and looked out a window.

 _'It's time to prove to my new master that I'm useful... and not just in bed_ '.

* * *

Suddenly, the Jedi apprentice Satele Shen felt a little faint. She held her head.

Her master noticed.

"Satele, what's wrong?" He asked with concern as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

The column stopped as she shook her head.

"I sense a...a great darkness," she said metaphorically.

Moments later, a fleet of Sith capital ships and fighters comes out of hyperspace,

They begin to attack the space station.

"The Sith Empire is here!" Master Darach exclaimed.

Explosions rocked the station.

Republic fighters and fast attack frigates went to engage the Imperial fleet. The station's few defensive cannons went to work, swatting some of the fighters and boarding out of space. But despite the Republic's valiant efforts, they wouldn't last for long against the power the Sith rolled in with.

More explosions rocked the station. Windows cracked, carbon mist was sprayed everywhere, and exposed cables dangled from the ceiling as sparks flew everywhere.

"We must warn the Republic!" Darach said.

"But our comms are down. And our ships can't outrun those fighters," Tex said.

That's when they heard the sound of some clearing their throat. They all looked to see that it was Okarr.

"Well...guess who has the fastest ship in the sector," the smuggler offered.

The Jedi and clones looked at each other. The smuggler was obviously bragging, but they didn't have a choice.

"Very well. We'll clear you a path to the hanger," Darach said.

The group ran through the debris and body strewn corridor on their way to the hanger. On the way, more explosions rocked the station. Blaster fire could be heard down the hallway.

As The two Jedi, their troopers, and the smuggler ran towards the hanger, dodging and returning blaster fire as they went, someone called out on the station's PA system.

" _Station defenses breached. All hands evacuate!_ " The crewman called out. Then there was a shout and a dying groan, followed by static.

Okarr was about to run into the hanger first when the Jedi blew passed him

"Stay back!" Master Darach ordered Okarr as he and Satele ignited their sabers and began to clear out the hanger of all of the Sith Soldiers inside. They blasted at the Jedi, but they skillfully dodged and deflected enemy blaster bolts as they cut through the wave of black armored assailants.

Behind them in the corridor, Commander Tex and his troopers were covering their escape. They blaster away at the advancing wave of Sith Troopers.

Imperium troopers fell to their clone counterparts, who backed up into the main hallway that led to the hanger.

Okarr saw a another squad of Sith troopers charging down the corridor. Two of them fired their grenade launchers down the hall at the Clones.

"Look out!" Okarr called to them.

Tex and his troopers saw it and tried to dodge the flying explosives. But it was too late. They impacted the wall behind them and caused a brilliant explosion, sending the troopers flying. Okarr shielded himself from the burning shrapnel. Through the dust and debris, all of the troopers, except Commander Tex and Corporal Jace, lay dead.

Okarr looked back and froze for a second. He frowned and walked towards the charging Sith troopers. Out of the corner of his eye, Tex and Jace were getting up. One of them was trying to check the vitals of a deceased trooper.

As he walked, he pulled out a pair of blaster pistols.

He fired his blasters. Blue laser bolts slammed into the wave of troopers, downing two of them. He spun around to dodge a blaster bolt. He fired again. Killing some more Sith troopers.

That's when he saw several droids walking towards them. They resembled Separatist Droidekas. They were painted black, had glowing red eyes and bubble shields. They marched forward and blasted away at the smuggler.

He fired back. But his blaster bolts had little effect.

But that's when Tex and Jace entered the fray.

They blasted away at the shielded droids. After a few seconds, the shields disappeared and the unprotected droids were shredded to bits before they collapsed and stopped firing.

The smuggler and two clones rushed into the hanger, escaping a fresh wave of Sith troopers. They fired back as they passed through the door as the Jedi finished off the Sith troopers in the hanger. Tex used his DC-15a rifle to blast the door control, slamming them shut. But before it was shut, a stray bolt flew through the door and hit Corporal Jace in the shoulder.

"Dammit!" Jace shouted as Tex and Satele went to check on him.

At least the hanger bay was now secure.

Okarr saw his freighter.

A beam from the ceiling had fallen near the ship, damaging it.

"My Ship!" The smuggler exclaimed.

Sparks flew from the scrapes on the hull.

"Will she fly?" Master Darach asked.

"Ehh! She's not pretty. But she's tough," Okarr said.

As the group prepared to board Okarr's ship, a _Fury_ -class Imperial interceptor entered the hangar. When it touched down, the ramp lowered. Two Sith emerge. One was a red-humanoid known as Darth Vindican. The other was a bald human with pale skin named Darth Malgus.

The Jedi and Sith looked at each other.

"Captain, get everybody aboard and prep for takeoff. This is our fight," Darach said.

Okarr nodded and boarded the ship to prep for launch.

Commander Tex propped Jace up on his shoulder as he carried him on the ship. "Good luck General. Give 'em a kick in the ass from us".

Satele and Darach nodded before they walked towards the approaching Sith.

* * *

On the ship, Tex set an injured Jace down in a seat, whilst Okarr ran into the cockpit.

He gave an order to his droid.

"R7. Prep the ion cannons," he said.

The droid beeped a reply and went to do that.

* * *

Darth Malgus activated activated his single blade, while his master activated a dual-edged red lightsaber.

Darach and Satele rushed towards them. Darach activated a green saber, and Satele activated a dual ended saber with blue blades.

Satele crossed blades with Vindican, and her master crossed blades with the Darth Malgus.

The four combatants jumped and around and swung their blades wildly, yet skillfully. They sometimes switched opponents.

To the casual onlooker, it was too fast to keep up with everything that was going on.

Darach continued to duel Malgus, who swung his blade at his head.

But the Zabrak Jedi slid forward on his knees, leaning his head back from the saber like a deadly game of limbo. he was so close to the blade that he could briefly feel the heat.

Malgus then tried to jab Darach in the face with the opposite end of his saber, but the Jedi leaned back before swatting Malgus' blade away with his own. They continued the fight right after.

Meanwhile, Satele was seemingly driving Vindican back. She crossed one of her blades with his, and leaned forward, trying to force his own blade on his face.

But Vindican kneed Satele hard in the gut, forcing her to double over. Vindican used this split second to bring his blade down on top of her.

But Darach had something different in mind.

He threw his blade, causing it to spin like a propeller. It was heading straight for Malgus, who ducked just in time.

But the spinning blade continued towards Vindican. It made contact with his blade, forcing him to back off, saving Satele in the process, who jumped up and kicked Vindican away before swinging her blades at him in a reinvigorated assault.

Darach's green blade flew back into his palms and he continued the duel.

Satele turned back to help her master by striking his busy opponent.

But Malgus forced Darach back and swiftly turned around to greet Satele with a lightning strike that came from his fingertips. She was involved in lightning before she fell to the hanger deck.

When Malgus turned back around, he was met by a force push from Darach that sent him flying towards the other side of the hanger, landing next to a recovering Vindican.

Satele got back up and force pulled her saber towards her. Darach placed his hand on her shoulder.

Okarr's ship was taking off. Malgus and Vindican shot lightning at the ship. But a rocket propelled grenade forced them to stop and evade the small missile. It came from Commander Tex, who hung from the open ramp.

"COME ON!" He shouted, encouraging them to climb aboard.

Satele started towards the ship, but Darach stopped her.

She looked at him, confused.

"Go Satele. You must walk a different path," he said, as his student lowered her head in sadness.

Darach nodded reassuringly before he ran towards the Sith.

"Master!" She shouted before throwing her saber at her master.

Without looking, he jumped in the air and spun around. Halfway through his 360 degree spin, he snatched the saber out of the air, igniting the dual ended blue lightsaber, which he now used in addition to his green blade.

With three blades, he jumped between the two Dark-siders and viciously fought them.

* * *

Satele cart-wheeled over some debris and ran along what remained of a catwalk before she force jumped towards the smuggler ship. She caught Tex's hand and he pulled her aboard as the ramp closed.

Okarr's ship bashed the Sith infiltrator out of the way and flew out of the hanger.

"On those guns! Now!" He shouted.

Tex and Satele climbed the ladders in the middle of the ship, which led to the upper and lower gun turrets.

* * *

Back in the hanger of the doomed station, Darach was in the middle of a fight to the finish.

The Two Sith were attacking him from both directions.

Vindican used lightning to attack the Jedi, but he blocked it. Then he swung his blades in a way that caused the lightning to flung at Malgus, who shouted in pain.

When they attacked again, Darach cut Vindican's dual-saber in half, and then Darach knelt down to touch the ground, using the force to create a shockwave that pushed both Sith warriors back.

Darach then focused on Vindican. His vicious attacks forced Vindican into a defensive posture. Eventually, he overwhelmed him, spun around, and stabbed him in the gut with the blade that Satele gave him.

The injured Sith Warrior moaned in pain.

 _One down, one to go_ , thought Darach, who looked for the Dark human.

He then saw Malgus standing their with the remaining end of his dual ended saber hilt. That's when Vindican's dual edged lightsaber was ripped out of his hand and flew straight into Malgus' hand. He ignited it.

With two blades, he advanced towards Darach, who began to use the force to throw debris at Malgus. He cut through the debris being flung at him.

He even cut through an engine, which exploded. The explosion concealed Malgus, who came out of it like a bat out of hell. He crossed blades with him again.

Malgus went on a vicious offensive, using his inner rage to fuek his attacks. With his two sabers, he constantly barraged the withdrawing Jedi with saber blows. Darach lost Satele's blade, leaving him with the one.

When Malgus forced Darach's defenses open, he swung his blades at his stomach, mortally injuring him.

The Zabrak Jedi collapsed and slowly died on the floor.

* * *

As Satele blasted away at enemy fighters that harassed Okarr's ship, she felt cold.

There was a great disturbance in the force.

The link between master and student was ironclad.

She froze for a moment as she felt his life force slipping away.

" _Keep them off of me!_ " Okarr said over the Comm. " _The hyperdrive's almost ready_ ".

Satele snapped back out of it and continued to blast Sith interceptors out of the sky with Tex.

More star fighters were swatted out of the sky.

They flew through a debris field of Republic and Imperial ships.

One Imperial corvette was in their path.

Tex and Satele fired their cannons at the ship, targeting it's critical systems. They strafed it with devastating firepower, causing the bridge superstructure to explode.

Okarr shielded his eyes from the explosion. But that's when he made the jump. The blue tunnel of hyperspace formed around them and they jumped into hyperspace, heading back to Republic space, with the terrible news: The Return of the Sith.

* * *

Back in the hanger, a severely injured Darth Vindican crawled towards the shield that kept everything from being sucked into space.

He saw dozens of large Sith Cruisers and several support ships orbiting korriban.

korriban was his ancestral home-world. He was a Sith Pureblood. This fight for korriban was personal.

Malgus walked up behind him, looking at the vast display of power before him.

"They escaped master. You failed. They'll warn the Republic of our intentions,' Malgus.

Vindican choked out an answer.

"No Malgus. This... 'cough'... is only the beginning. The Republic will know to fear our power," Vindican said.

"Today, after nearly 1000 years, korriban is ours again. And tomorrow... the galaxy will kneel before us," Malgus said. He ignited his saber. Vindican could see what Malgus was doing out the corner of his eye.

"Welcome home," Malgus said before he swung his blade through Vindican's neck.

As his late master's head rolled across the deck, he looked out the shield. He watched Sith warships gathering over korriban as swarms of Sith interceptors passed by.

 _'This is only the beginning'_.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Well, that's chapter 29 folks.**

 **Hope you enjoyed.**

 **Fell free to leave your thoughts down in the review section. I'm gonna start working on chapter 30 soon.**

 **Until next time, this is Grubkiller, over and out.**


	30. Chapter 30-War reignited

**Have no fear, Grubkiller is here.**

 **Hey folks, here's part 30 of 'Fall of the Republic'.**

 **The very first scene was inspired by an AO3 story called ' _The Stars in our Galaxy_ ' by an author named _gamorasquill._**

 **Read, Enjoy, and Review.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _500 Republica, Coruscant_.

A loud crash woke Ahsoka from her peaceful slumber and immediately she looked around, scanning her surroundings.

To her surprise instead of Lux, two young handmaidens occupied the room with her. One was a pale girl with light green eyes and dark indigo colored hair. The other was a twi'lek with green skin and glittering pink eyes. They both wore black and white handmaiden's outfits that hugged their beautiful curves quite nicely.

Both of them looked fearful and nervous, much to Ahsoka's confusion. That confusion; however, quickly vanished at the sight of a shattered vase on the ground.

With a small groan, Ahsoka sat up and stretched. The covers fell away from her, exposing her breasts and stomach. After stretching she pressed her palms against the bed, using them to hold herself up.

Quickly, the twi'lek gave a nervous bow, but the other handmaiden kept still, taking small glances at Ahsoka's naked torso. "W..we humbly apologize milady! It was not our intention to wake or disturb you." said the Twi'lek handmaiden.

Her tone was fearful and timid. Poor thing must've thought that she was upset about the vase. Which was quite ridiculous considering that she's hardly ever here for more than two days at a time... every few weeks or so.

"Relax." Ahsoka said calmly. "I'm not upset. Where did Senator Bonteri go?"

"He had to go to the Senate early today, and participate in a meeting with the Chancellor." The indigo haired servant girl answered.

Ahsoka sighed. "I see..."

After getting one last stretch in, Ahsoka threw the covers away from her body, fully exposing herself. Without a care in the world, she walked past the two servants, one of whom was fascinated by Ahsoka's form, and into the washroom doorway. Before she closed the door, she turned over her shoulder.

"I'd hurry and get that mess cleaned up and have that vase replaced. Senator Bonteri will not be pleased if he finds out about it." She replied before kicking the door shut.

* * *

Later, Ahsoka sat on one of the rotating stools built into the floor at the kitchen counter, waiting for Lux to return home.

She was already dressed up in her post-jodi outfit. The recently turned 18 year old togrutan swiped through her personal data pad while eating a platter of eggs, a small jogan flavored poundcake, and a glass of blue milk.

As she scrolled through the data pad, looking at the different advertisements and news articles, she came across an article about a person that she hoping that she'd never have to see again. It was her ex-best friend. A former Jedi Knight. Someone who's been through thick and thin with her.

It was Barriss Offee.

Ahsoka leaned over in surprise. Her old friend was wearing an orange skintight prison jumpsuit, being escorted by prison guards. Apparently she was captured last night by the Onyx Guard while giving weapons and money to terrorists in the Coruscant underworld.

She was worried for a minute. But then she calmed down, realizing that her former friend was safely behind bars... and a laser gate ... and 20 heavily armed guards.

That's when the door opened.

It was Lux.

She smiled and put her pad down before getting up to great her.

"Welcome home, handsome," Ahsoka said as she walked over with an extra swing in her hips.

Lux looked up and saw her approaching. He smiled. "Hello, my little 'Soka".

Ahsoka walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She then stood on her toes to press her moist lips against Lux's. He accepted them with glee before closing his eyes, and placed his hands on her waist and ran them down until they rested on her hips. They continued to kiss each other passionately for a few minutes before Ahsoka broke the kiss.

Still holding each other, they looked into each other's eyes, getting lost in them for what seemed like an eternity.

"I love you," Lux said.

Ahsoka smiled and blushed. She averted her eyes and lowered her head slightly.

With her head still lowered and her cheeks still burning, her eyes looked back up at him and she smiled. "I know."

Lux tilted his head and arched one eyebrow higher than the other. He looked down at her with a puzzled look. "Seriously?"

"What?" She asked innocently.

"We've been together for months now, we've been through thick and thin together, we share the same bed, and yet for every ten or fifteen times I say 'I Love you', _still,_ you'll only say it once. Why is that?" Lux asked.

Ahsoka's smile faded and she stared at him with a blank look for several silent moments. After about ten heartbeats, she lowered her head and sighed. Then she became more solemn.

"Look Lux, I ..." she hesitated and averted her eyes again. But then Lux gently pulled her tighter into his embrace, forcing her to push her bust up against his chest. Then she found the words to continue, "...I'm still new to all of this relationship stuff. I ... I'm still getting used to it. A few years ago, I thought that I was always going to be a Jedi Knight and never break the code. But then I got kicked out. And then we got together, and that's all still a shock to me. A _pleasant_ shock, but _still_ a shock. During my time fighting on Mandalore, when I was reunited with my masters and fighting with the boys again, I couldn't help but miss the old days. I've never told anyone this, but ... I was actually considering rejoining the Jedi Order."

Lux's eyes nearly bulged out of his skull when she said that.

"But ... you said-,"

"I know what I said in my messages, Lux. But I was really close to making that decision." Her expression became less loving and more solemn. "I was prepared to rejoin the order and become Skyguy's padawan again. I was even trying to do better to keep my relationship with you a secret, which is why I sometimes may seem emotionally distant from you".

What she was saying was true. Ahsoka didn't say 'I Love you' nearly as often as Lux said it, she didn't make public displays of affection in overly crowded areas, and they usually only made love once in a while. Once when they met up after a while, and once when one of them had to leave for their careers, and not as often in between. And it was all because she was getting ready to become a Jedi again, and keep their relationship under wraps.

"Why didn't you rejoin the order then?" He asked.

As she stared up at him, her eyes became watery. "Without Anakin as my master, it wouldn't have been the same". Lux continued to stare at Ahsoka in utter silence. But then she lowered her head in sadness.

He placed his fist under her chin and raised his girlfriend's head so that she could meet his gaze again. A tear streamed down her cheek. He used his thumb to wipe it away.

"As long as we're together, I will always be proud of you, no matter what path you decide to take. And if you wanted to become a Jedi again, I would support you, because I love you, and I want to see you happy," he said.

They continued to stare into each other's eyes.

Before Ahsoka could say anything, any speech that she possessed was muted when Lux closed his eyes and began to press his lips softly against hers. Her eyes were still open as Lux kissed her unmoving lips. But when Lux started to wrap his lips around her bottom lip, and tightened his hold on her, she closed her eyes and puckered her lips with his. She mimicked his actions by wrapping her lips around his top lip, and increased the amount of passion and desire between them.

They broke the kiss and smiled at each other, while they still held each other.

Ahsoka still had her arms around Lux's neck. Then she took one back and ran her hand down his jacket, scratching the closed zipper teeth with her fingernail. She smiled.

"Hmm. You know Luxie... another reason that I don't say 'I Love You' as much is because..." she said before she smiled mischievously, "...I like to play hard-to-get".

Lux smirked.

"Well, you _are_ on leave for the next few days, so..." he said before he reached into his pants pocket and reached back out, carrying a holo-device, "...how about we go on vacation," Lux said.

Ahsoka grabbed the holo-device and looked at the hologram image that appeared. It was an image of a planet. She read the letters that appeared beneath it.

"Alderaan?" She asked. Then she looked back up at him and smiled.

"Just a nice little place for you and me to ... ' _play hard to get'_ "... he said as he held her more tightly and pushed her back until her rump touched the counter. Ahsoka leaned back over the table and giggled before Lux silenced her with a passionate kiss.

After a few seconds they broke apart.

"I'd love to," Ahsoka said.

"Great!" Lux exclaimed happily. "Now what would you like to do for the rest of your first day on leave ... after we get packed for our vacation that is?" He asked.

Ahsoka smiled. "We can go to the theater. Then we can go out to eat, and maybe go for a stroll around the park," she said.

Lux smiled.

"Anything for you, my 'Soka".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Jedi Temple, Coruscant_.

The council was in session.

They were also joined by Chancellor Dalyell and several prominent Military leaders. They all sat in a semi-circle around the holographic images of Jedi Padawan Satele Shan and Clone Commander Tex. According to their report, they were among the few survivors of an attack on a Republic outpost above Korriban, in the Horuset system.

The attackers were an enemy that was thought destroyed one thousand years ago: The Sith Empire.

After they finished their report, they were dismissed, leaving the Council and the military officers to discuss what they were just told.

"How is this possible? The Sith Empire was destroyed centuries ago?" Ki-Adi Mundi asked.

"This can't be a small remnant. They attacked a small space station with 30 battlecruisers and their support ships. They must've spent all of that time in exile rebuilding," Obi-Wan said.

As the council began to talk back and forth, Yoda raised his hand to silence everyone.

That's when he spoke up.

"Managed to rally the old enemy against us, Palpatine has. Means to destroy the Republic through total war he does. Prepare our response we must, and stop the Sith we must." He said as he tapped his cane on the floor.

Chancellor Dalyell bowed his head.

"I agree wholeheartedly, Master Yoda," he said before he turned to the hologram of General Bardry Salaman. "General, what's our situation as it stands?"

" _Sir, we're getting reports of attacks on multiple planets in the outer rim. Local Republic forces in the Tion Cluster say that they match the historical archives that we have on the Sith Empire. We're also getting reports of multiple former Separatist worlds joining the Sith... including Raxus._ "

Dalyell shook his holographic head. "That's just perfect. The Clone Wars just got re-ignited. Any good news?"

"We may have made significant cut backs to the military over the last few weeks, but due to the Sith's limited numbers, we should still have the power to drive them out of the Rim territories, and keep the Core safe."

 _"Then it's settled: I want the fleet mobilized as soon as possible in the Contruum system. We'll create an armada and cut a swath across the Outer Rim. And then, once the invasion is driven back, we'll find out where the Sith are hiding... and we'll raze the planet._ "

Some of the Council members nodded in agreement. But the rest sat in silence. The Clone Wars had just ended a month ago - kind of - and the last thing they wanted was a repeat. But with Palpatine and the long lost Sith involved, that was just what they were going to get.

They had no choice but to meet this new - or rather old - threat, if they wanted to preserve the Jedi Order, and the Republic it swore to protect and serve.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant Green Park_.

All across the center of the Republic, people everywhere were preparing to turn in for the night.

Shopkeepers began to close up their businesses, Wives welcomed their husbands back home from work, and had prepared supper for their families. Police droids and officers were patrolling the streets, making sure that law and order was maintained across the city.

As the setting sun began cast its orange lights on the clouds before it started to disappear, the city lights began to turn on, allowing people to walk around freely at night more easily.

But though many people were preparing to retire for the night, the city proper was not. Billions of Coruscanti citizens were taking a night on the town, going to fine dining restaurants that were still open for business. People also went to Coruscant's vast array of theaters, sports arenas, and night clubs, which were meant to entertain families and couples alike.

One of those couples were walking towards a restaurant right now.

Ahsoka Tano and her boyfriend, Lux Bonteri, were walking through one of Coruscant's famous green parks, which was filled with trees and elegant buildings, which housed different exhibits that educated visitors on the greenery that was on display.

As the two of them walked, the Ahsoka wrapped her arms around Lux's elbow in order to feel more secure with him, while she leaned her head against his shoulder.

"I really enjoyed myself tonight Luxie,' Ahsoka said.

Lux smiled. Then he felt Ahsoka's Lekku vibrating against her shoulder. She was purring, which caused him to smile.

"I aim to please, my dear. Which is why we're going to Alderaan in the first place. I want to treat you like the princess you are," he said.

A smiling Ahsoka began to to giggle.

"Mmmmh, I can't wait," she said.

Seconds later, as they continued walking, they heard a large loud speaker calling out of the park's PA system. Everyone that was in the park paused to hear what was happening.

" _Attention parks goers, please stand-by and pause for an important public broadcast by His excellency Supreme Chancellor Tomas Dalyell of the Galactic Senate,_ " the speaker said.

Everyone stopped. Then they looked above to see the massive holo-screens hovering above the streets around the park. The advertisements that they showed flickered out and were replaced with an image of Chancellor Dalyell.

He sat at his desk, with his hands clasped in front of him on the table. He looked into the holo-feed and spoke with his powerful voice.

" _Citizens and warriors of the Republic. My fellow patriots. Just hours ago, a new entity, calling itself the 'Sith Empire', came out of Wild Space, and launched an unprovoked and dishonorable attack on our forces in the outer rim."_

As the Chancellor spoke, people began to speak amongst themselves. Meanwhile, Lux kept glancing at Ahsoka, seeing her reaction. She kept staring at the scream with a blank look on her face.

The Chancellor continued.

 _"As we speak, they are continuing to spread death and destruction across the far Outer Rim, attacking many innocent planets, and making no distinction between combatants and non-combatants. Several of these planets were all home to Republic military bases and settlements. Others were unarmed worlds that wanted nothing to do with conflict that was forced upon them. The lives of hundreds of Republic servicemen, and countless civilian lives, will not go unpunished. As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense."_

As she heard those words, Ahsoka felt her heart beating in her throat, making it harder for her to breath. She knew what was coming next.

 _"These are difficult times that we live in. And I understand that we just got out of a brutal war, but make no mistake: The price of Liberty is eternal vigilance. It is time for our people to, once again, arise to the challenge of keeping the Republic safe and free for ourselves and future generations. We must show our resolve in the face of adversity. I ask that the Congress declare, that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by the Sith, a state of war has existed between the Galactic Republic, and the Empire of the Sith"._

The message came to an end, and people started to chatter away.

Lux's mouth hung open in shock. Then he looked over at Ahsoka. She had lowered her head. He looked around her face and saw that a single tear was starting to run down her cheek. He stepped closer to her and wrapped his arms around her, before pulling her close.

She didn't whimper, and she didn't sob. But she was still upset.

There was no telling what the future would hold for the galaxy.

But as for Ahsoka, one thing was pretty clear: She was going back to war.

* * *

On another part of the planet, Padme and Bail have both finished righting their proposed bill to amend the Constitution. But then they heard about the declaration of war. Their CRA bill would have to wait.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Imperial Citadel, Byss' Capital City, Beshqek system_.

High above Byss' largest city, Darth Sidious sat in his throne room.

But he wasn't just looking out over the rapidly developing city of loyal subjects that would die for him. He was looking at the fleet of all Gray colored Imperator, Venator, and Acclemator class warships that hung above the city, which were being loaded with Spaarti Clone Stormtroopers, who were ready to go in whatever direction their Lord and Master pointed.

Darth Vader was standing behind him.

"The War has begun, master." He said.

"On the contrary, it never ended." Sidious said.

"When will I be able to lead the Army to victory?" Vader asked.

Darth Sidious smiled as his Apprentice's impatience.

"Patience. You will have your vengeance soon enough. With the Hutts allowing us access to their hyperspace lanes, and the former Separatist worlds following the Sith Empire, all we need to do is remove the Republic Navy and we will have complete control over the Northern Outer Rim. And the Mid rim planets won't be able to stop us with their pitiful little armies in our advance on the Core."

As the two of them spoke strategy, an Imperial officer walked up to them. e stopped about 20 feet short of the throne and kneeled.

"What is it?" Sidious asked, not bothering tom turn his chair.

"My lord, we are receiving a transmission from Lord Malgus," he said.

"Pit it through," Sidious said.

An image of Darth Malgus appeared behind Sidious. He and Vader glared at one another for a brief second before Sidious turned his chair around to face him. "Where is Lord Vindican?" He asked.

" _Killed above Korriban_ ," he said.

"I see ... what news from the front?"

" _The local Republic forces are holding for now, but with the Separatist holdouts bolstering us with their forces, we will soon break through. That is, if the Republic doesn't send reinforcements and mobilize their reserves?_ "

"They will be dealt with in due time. In the meantime, you will continue as planned," Sidious said.

Darth Malgus bowed in respect, but then raised his head slightly to glared at Sidious and Vader as his hologram fizzled out.

Darth Vader looked at the spot that the hologram came from. "I sense a growing hatred within Darth Malgus. I don't believe that he can be trusted," he said.

"Oh ... I trust Malgus about as far as I can electrocute him. But as long as he leads the Sith army, he can turn that hatred against the Republic. Now go up to your command ship and await my orders. You will embark on your mission once I give the word," Sidious said.

Vader bowed his head. "Yes, my master," he said before he walked out of the room.

Sidious looked back out of the viewport to watch his fleet gathering above the city.

He smiled.

 _'All is going as I have foreseen'_.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Well folks, that's chapter 30.**

 **Hope you enjoyed.**

 **Part 31'll be right around the corner.**


	31. Chapter 31-Storm Clouds Gather

**Have no fear, Grubkiller is here.**

 **Hey folks, here's part 31 of this story.**

 **As always, Read, Enjoy, and Review.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Valor Space Station, Carida System, 4 days after the attack on Korriban_.

Carida.

A planet in the Colonies region of the galaxy, near the Perlemian Trade Route, and the homeworld of the Caridan race.

This large, high-gravity world was covered in everything from rocky mountains and frozen ice fields, to rain forests full of carnivorous plants, and deserts. As such, this planet was the perfect training ground for combat in difficult terrain. It was an exporter of food, and was ruled by the Council of Merchants, which later shared power with a military administration.

Originally known as Ord Carida, the planet was colonized by the Galactic Republic as a Ordnance/Regional Depot some time circa 12,000 BBY. During the Pius Dea Civil War, which ended Pius Dea domination over the Galactic Republic, the Republic's Rocket-Jumper Elite Advance Unit played an important role in the Jedi victory over the Pius Dea garrison there. During the time of the Cold War, a proxy conflict between the Sith Empire and Galactic Republic, some foragers discovered a crude tunnel burrowing under Carida's largest mountain range, believing it to be the entrance to a fabled ancient city. Eventually, someone was sent to check the foragers' findings.

Carida was the site of a major military training facility, the Academy of Carida. The training facilities were offered to the Galactic Republic for training an army created by the Military Creation Act before the Clone Wars.

In the first year of war, the planet was the site of a victory for the Confederacy of Independent Systems over the Republic. The Republic's loss at Carida, coupled with other recent defeats, led Jedi Grand Master Yoda of the Jedi Council to believe that the Republic needed another major victory.

Sometime later in the war's course, Carida was once again under Republic control. The Republic operated a space station, known as the _Valor_ , within orbit of Carida and it was the site of a Republic strategy conference around the third year of the war. The Separatists, under the command of a super tactical droid, unsuccessfully tried to destroy the station during the conference using a derelict bomb-laden Jedi cruiser, the _RSV_ _Renown_.

Now, with the ill-prepared Republic once again thrust into war, this planet served as a staging ground for the largest invasion fleet assembled by the Republic since the "end" of the Clone Wars. But they weren't just going to be fighting Separatists like before. They were also fighting the Republic's ancient enemy: The long-exiled Sith Empire.

 _Valor_ station, which served as the nerve center for this mobilization, had three large docking arms around a central superstructure. Each of the 3 docking arms, consisted of 3 hangars making a total of 9 ship hangars. The central superstructure was a facility dedicated for strategic planning and was protected by turrets and turbo lasers. It was also surrounded by about 300 Republic warships, and a network of defensive satellites.

This planet was impenetrable to any outside invasion force.

But, of coarse, the key words are ' _invasion force'_.

The Sith knew fully well that they would suffer greatly if they tried to take this station he'd on. So they were taking a more subtle approach.

* * *

Onboard the Republic Star Destroyer, _RSV Javelin_ , the Grand Inquisitor stood on the bridge. This ship was captured by Darth Sidious' forces several weeks ago while it was on patrol near Thule, somewhere in the Tion Cluster.

The Grand Inquisitor himself killed the Jedi knight that commanded this vessel in a heated battle. Now he had control of a Jedi Cruiser, and he planned to make the most of it.

A Spaarti Clone Stormtrooper ran up to him. He had blue markings all over his all white Phase-II clone armor.

"Sir, every compartment inside the ship has been packed with Rhydonium canisters," the stormtrooper commander said, referring to a volatile type of starship fuel, that could be found on Abafar. When poured out of its container, rhydonium appeared like spilled chrome. It could be scraped up and salvaged, but only under a high degree of safety, as rhydonium was dangerous to exposed skin. It was once used by the Separatist in a failed attempt to destroy this same station. "Once the ship collides with the station, or it's detonated close by, the entire station will be vaporized, along with most of the fleet."

The Inquisitor smiled. "Very good. Load the transports. We're leaving, now," he said.

The stormtroopers commander nodded, before running off to gather his men.

The Grand Inquisitor continued to look at the fleet. He smiled, knowing that the Republic wouldn't know what was going on until it was too late. "It won't be long now," he said to himself before he turned around and stepped off of the bridge to evacuate with the rest of the Imperial personnel.

* * *

 _RSV Vigilance_.

"General Kenobi! We've got a Republic cruiser heading straight for us. It just came out of hyperspace," he said.

Obi-Wan and Cody walked up to the technician and leaned over to look at the screen.

"Have you identified them?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yes sir. Hull designation ID's them as the RSV Javelin, a cruiser that went missing three weeks ago near the Tion Cluster. But they're not responding to any of my hails," the technician said. "But they do keep transmitting an all-clear signal."

Cody pressed a button on the terminal before speaking into it. "RSV Javelin, this is Commander Cody. You have been 'absent without leave' for three weeks now, and are entering Republic space without prior warning. Identify yourself or you will be boarded."

The Cody let go of the console and continued to look at the approaching cruiser.

"Sir, they're not decreasing their speed," the clone technician said before he looked closer at the image of the cruiser and saw several shuttle craft leaving it. "Sir, several shuttle craft just left the station!"

"Scan it! I want to know what in blazes they're hiding," Obi-Wan ordered.

The clones all started scanning the ship. Fighters and frigates were sent out to investigate the ship. That's when a transmission was sent to Valor from one of the Consular-class frigates.

" _Sir, that ship is crammed with Rhydonium!_ "

Everyone nearly froze, but the Obi-Wan's response was immediate.

"Get away from that ship," he ordered, prompting the task force of small ships to break away and get to a safe distance.

Then Cody contacted the gunnery station. "All batteries, target that incoming cruiser!"

* * *

Seconds later, every turbo laser and missile pod cut loose with a murderous barrage that was sent in the direction of the compromised Jedi cruiser. Hundreds of green and blue laser bolts slammed into the hull. Pieces of debris began to peel away from the hull, before chunks of debris were blasted off all together. But, despite the Republic's best efforts, the RSV Javelin was too close to the station, and it's momentum was still carrying it forward. When it was right in front of the station, and in the center of the fleet, the Rhydonium was ignited.

Several bluish-green explosions, coming from inside the shit, blossomed across the hull, and ripped the ship apart from the inside. The clones onboard every ship in the fleet watched in horror as the ship was vaporized. Then the blue and green explosions all compressed into a small white dot of light. Then a massive shockwave was sent in all direction, wiping out several dozen his that were right around it.

The station was also wiped away.

On the surviving ships, Obi-Wan and the clones were thrown to the ground by the force of the shockwave.

* * *

When the dust settled, over a hundred Republic warships, and the massive space station, and all of the defense satellites, were wiped out. The remaining two hundred ships suffered damage of some kind. It was the single greatest disaster in Republic Navel history.

And without reinforcement to replenish their numbers, the Republic fleet couldn't go on the offensive. They could only hold back against the Sith Empire and the Separatist holdouts, while at the same time maintain the occupation.

The Republic was on the defensive.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Conference Room, Senate Building_.

Chancellor Tomas Dalyell from the planet Sera was sitting at the center of a long table.

Around him, were all of his military advisors and cabinet members.

Yoda and a few other council members were present. Admiral Tarkin, commander of the Republic navy and regional governor of the outer rim, and several other military officers from different branches of the military were in the room as well.

They were all watching as General Bardry Salaman stood in front of a holographic map of the Galaxy. The northern Outer Rim was colored orange to represent the hot zones and separatist activity, and Hutt space was green. A few dark red spot were scattered across the Outer Rim. They were Sith territories and possessions. Which included military bases, ancient Sith Temples, and even major industrial centers that pledged their loyalty to them.

The planets in the mid rim, and northward of that, that were blinking blue and red were planets that were prone to revolution, or were about to fall to Sith invasions. The royal blue dots were major Republic military industrial centers and fortress worlds.

General Salaman was a human from the planet Sera, just like Dalyell. He was the Commander of the COG Army when Dalyell was the chairman. Now he was the head of the Grand Army. He was Tarkin's equal and rival.

"Go ahead, General," Dalyell asked.

Salaman nodded and held his pointer stick to the map.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm not going to lie to you ... we're losing this war. So far, the Sith have managed to keep us from reinforcing the occupation in the northern Outer Rim, and all of our forces in that sector are on the verge of collapse. I was hoping that we'd be able to break their siege and divide their forces with our knowledge of the Nexus Route. But Master Kenobi's invasion force was hit hard in the attack on our staging area above Carida; and the invasion fleet that was led by Master Windu, that went into the outer rim, was surrounded on all sides by the Sith and their allies, and were forced to withdraw. Sir, we can hold our ground, for now, but it looks like an Armada of Sith warships are making a beeline straight for the core, and are leaving a path of destruction everywhere they go. We can stop them, but if we don't do it soon, then we'll risk losing the Outer Rim."

The military leaders all looked at each other and nodded. But some, including the Jedi Councilors, were stunned into silence, completely dumbfounded that they already had to abandon the northern half of the galaxy.

Dalyell shook his head.

"Tell me that we can stop them."

Salaman responded quickly.

"Yes Sir. But only if we wait for them to attack the core."

Ever since the Armistice on Raxus, the Republic went into a demobilization phase. The Republic spent most of its military efforts in protecting the Core and Colonies, and occupying the Outer Rim, while maintaining a few bases the Mid and Inner Rim. But those two regions would mostly provide for their own defenses.

But the good news was that the mothballed battle groups and reserve troopers would be mobilized soon, and the economy was still operating on a Wartime economy. The Republic would soon have the strength to defeat the Sith and retake the Outer Rim. But it meant holding them at the core, and leaving the forces in the Outer Rim, and the unarmed planets between there and core to fend for themselves.

Dalyell sighed. He got up and walked around the table.

Everyone looked at him.

He stopped in front of a wall with several holo-monitors on it.

They showed the war waging far, far away. Clone Troopers fought in the trenches at the frontline, firing round after round of ammunition into the seemingly endless wave of dark gray painted battle droids, which were being used by the Sith thanks to the former Separatist planets and their underground factories. High above, triangular Venator-class Republic Star Destroyers went toe-to-toe with similar Sith battlecruiser and dreadnoughts, which were painted all gray

One monitor showed a column of refugees walking in long lines away from a burned out Sith-occupied city. On another monitor watching that same city, several Jedi Cruisers hovered above the once proud skyscrapers, which were now burning husks thanks to the Sith invaders. A large blue light materialized beneath each warship for a few moments, when suddenly, each light source produced a powerful beam. They connected to the surface of the city, and then they each converged onto the city center where they formed one massive beam which created an explosion that wiped out the city. That was the _Hammer of Dawn_ being put to use, as requested by ADM. Tarkin, and authorized by Chancellor Dalyell.

More monitors showed people on some planets revolting against the Republic and joining the Sith. Others showed people being punished by the Sith for daring to remain loyal to the Republic.

It was a testament to how chaotic, and in many cases hostile, the entire northern regions of the galaxy were.

Perhaps it was best to abandon it and help the Republic regroup.

"Alright," Dalyell finally said to the assembled politicians, before he turned to them. "We're fortifying the Core."

Some people nodded in agreement.

"But as soon - and I mean as soon - as we're at full strength, I want to drive those Sith bastards straight into the depths of Hell".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Senate Grand Convocation Chamber_.

Padme was in her repulsor-lift pod.

The senate was in session. The subject: Declaration of total war against the Sith Empire.

"You may cast your votes now." Mas Amedda said, his voice booming out across the chamber.

As everyone cast their vote, Padme just looked down at the two decisions in front of her.

 _'Yes for war, or no'._

Because of the Sith crisis, the Declaration of War vote was of paramount importance. Her Constitutional Reform Act was put on hold. All her life she believed that a peaceful solution was always possible. She believed that it was necessary to put aside differences so that both sides could come together.

But at the same time, she was looking at the resurgence of the Sith Empire. The Jedi, and the Republic's, oldest enemy.

And they attacked first.

The decision seemed clear to her.

Evil had to be confronted.

With a heavy heart and with the greatest reluctance, she placed her hand on the yes button, and before she knew it, the Republic was at war.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Message to all Grand Army Personnel, from the Joint Chiefs_.

 _All Clone Army personnel. By order of the Supreme Chancellor, by approval of the Galactic Congress, the order for General Mobilization has been sounded. The following instructions are to be followed as listed._

 _1\. All_ _battle groups currently operating in the Outer Rim are ordered to hold their positions for as long as possible. Any other battle groups north and north-east of the Coruscant will fall back to the Core and Colonies regions to establish a defensive perimeter around the Galactic Core, and protect against the invaders._

 _2\. All Grand Army reservists are to report to their units within 24 hours._

 _3\. All Republic Naval assets that have been moth-balled are to be brought back into fighting shape as soon as possible._

 _4\. All Border guards and bases are to maintain a full alert status at all times._

 _Everyone. 'We Are At War!' To ensure the survival of the Republic, and the safety of its citizens, we must follow these instructions and take up arms against the Sith Imperium. You will all do your jobs in an exceptional manner in the face of any and all adversaries to the Galactic Republic._

 _Good luck, and m_ _ay the Force be with you all._

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Galactic Senate Building, Coruscant, one week after the destruction of Valor Station_.

The people of Coruscant were going about their busy lives.

People were going to the theater to see the latest piece of holoscreen art. Others were going to work or running errands to support their families, while children went off to school. Sky cars flew back and forth through traffic that stretched across the planet-wide bee-hive that was Coruscant.

Everything seemed completely normal, except that something was out of the ordinary.

What was it? Oh right! The Jedi Cruisers that hovered over the city's cloudy skyline, and the military transports that were heading up into orbit.

Once again, the Republic was at War.

Clone Troopers were being marched onto their transports.

People's taxes were going up to fund the war effort.

Spending was allocated from other government programs to fund the war effort as well. And Protestors gathered outside of the Jedi Temple, the Coruscant Military complex, and the Senate building.

Lines of Clone Riot Troopers from the Coruscant Guard separated the protestors and the important government buildings.

Oh, and more riots broke out across some of the Core Worlds. But they were no where near as big as they were in the weeks prior, these being much more isolated and easily containable.

But they were just cry babies who had way too much time on their hands. It was a real pain for those who actually had to fight in the war.

Clones that had built families since the Clone Wars had to, once again, go join their brothers to fight in the outer rim.

It was also a real bother for a certain togrutan named Ahsoka Tano.

The Gray Jedi, who had recently come home on leave, sat cross-legged in a meditation position in front of the window of her boyfriend's office in the senate building. She wore her usual post-Jedi bodysuit, skirt, and leggings, which were black, with yellow markings

Ahsoka has been meditating for a little now.

It had been raining all day when she started, raindrops running down the window in front of her as thunder clapped in the distance. But then the clouds cleared up enough for her to see that the sun was setting. It's rays were shining through the skyscrapers and casting a pinkish-orange light on Ahsoka's face and the office that she was in. She's been waiting for her boyfriend's senate session to be adjourned. The senators were voting on an official declaration of war on the Sith, even though it wasn't necessary considering how the Sith drew first blood.

This is one of several things that she's been doing since she found out that the Republic was at war.

She tried to keep herself busy, easing her mind from the troubles that lied ahead. She went out on maneuvers with the 501st legion in preparation for the day that they would ship out.

Sometimes she would go work out, and go on long walks by herself, and even stop the occasional crime to blow off some steam.

Ahsoka still spent her free time with Lux, but she'd become slightly less talkative and a bit more distant lately.

She continued to sit on the floor in Lux's office, pretzel styled, reciting a quote by the first Gray Jedi, Leor Danal. The quote was the basis for the Gray Jedi Code.

 _"There must be both dark and light"._

 _"I will do what I must to keep the balance, as the balance is what holds all life"._

 _"There is no good without evil, but evil must not be allowed to flourish"._

 _"There is passion, yet peace; serenity, yet emotion; chaos, yet order"._

 _"I am a wielder of the flame; a champion of balance"._

 _"I am a guardian of life"._

 _"I am a Gray Jedi" ._

In the morning, she would have to join her comrades. Rex told her over the com-link that they evacuated the Outer Rim. The boys were itching for some serious payback.

Even though she was a little sad and frustrated that she had to leave Lux to go to War, Ahsoka knew that deep down it was the right thing to do. She is a guardian of life, and she can not, in good faith, allow evil to flourish unchecked.

* * *

Lux, dressed in a tight royal blue, long-sleeved and collared shirt, underneath a brown senatorial jacket with black markings of House Bonteri, brown trousers and dark gray boots, walked through the corridors from his propulsion pod in the Grand Convocation Chamber.

Even though the debate was over, and the senate had already voted for an official Declaration of War, the arguments were still going back and forth.

"We shouldn't be at war. We're not ready."

"We must defend ourselves from those Sith monsters."

"We should be negotiating with the Sith. They can have the Outer Rim. It's full of terrorists and separatists anyway."

As Lux went further down the corridor, he came across Senator Ask Aak, a Palpatine loyalist from the planet Malastare, was arguing with Garm Bel Iblis and Mon Mothma.

"Dalyell is an incompetent fool. He is gong to lead the Republic to destruction if we go to war", said Senator Ask Aak.

"But we are under attack," Garm said. "We must at least defend ourselves, especially against one of the greatest evils of our time".

"That's the same argument that we used in the Clone Wars, but you two led the anti-war movement. Why are you being hypocrites now?"

"We were never hypocrites," Mothma said defensively. "We were against fighting the Separatists, who had legitimate cause for leaving. And we were against a centralized army, because we were afraid that it would give Palpatine too much power, which it did before the Jedi stopped him. But Dalyell has proven time and again that he wants peace, and that he wants planets to have a greater voice within the Republic. He cut back on Grand Army spending to give regional militaries for spending."

"...And he never once alienated any of the other planets in the Republic, or our personal liberties, the way that Palpatine did while he was in office," Garm said.

Senator Aak scoffed. "Senators like you are paranoid. Palpatine wasn't a dictator. He was a good man who used his power, that we gave him, to save the Republic. Dalyell is just a Jedi puppet that's getting us into an unnecessary war".

Even though Lux knew what they were arguing about and that he should just try to avoid it, he jumped into the fray anyway.

"Listen Ask Aak, I'm tired of you saying that the Jedi are "puppet masters". They have been fighting for the safety of the Republic since its founding. My Girlfriend happens to be a Jedi," Lux said.

"Ah yes, Lady Tano. The former bomber herself is dating a separatist. You two terrorists were meant for each other."

Lux clenched his fist and was prepared to punch him. Listen, you sniveling little coward!" Lux accused, pointing his finger in Aak's three-eyed face, making Garm and Mon recoil in surprise. "...I've payed for my allegiance to the Separatist with my parents lives, and I've had people I loved die fighting the Separatists, so the fact that you're still stupid enough o call me one, is astounding. And my girlfriend has been fighting for freedom and justice on the front line with her men for years, while you stayed here - making life miserable for average citizens, who pay taxes to keep you comfortable and safe in your ivory tower. People like me, Ahsoka, and all our friends fight for everyone, even for people who don't deserve it, like you!" Lux said before he stormed off, leaving a dumbfounded trio of senators.

He tried to get the insults out of his head as he continued to walk towards his office. Thoughts of his beautiful soulmate waiting for him helped a lot.

* * *

Ahsoka was still sitting on the floor, meditating. She was still thinking about the fight that had yet to come.

She heard the door hiss open behind her. As she continued meditating, she could hear the familiar patterns of Lux's footfalls resonating through the floor. She could feel his presence through the force, and hear his footsteps with her Lekku.

It was a comforting sound.

But she didn't great him, opting to keep quiet and continue clearing her mind.

Once he was blocking what little sunlight was kept in the room on her, she opened her eyes and looked up at Lux. "No shock here..." She muttered, before she enveloped one of her hands into one of Lux's, while still sitting down.

Lux was slightly nervous with her depressed tone of voice. "What's eating you?"

She grumbled. "Oh, you don't know..."

He held back a chuckle. "No... I can't read minds like you do."

"I don't read minds, I just-" She stopped and heaved, "Fine, I'll say it." She said before she stood up, still holding Lux's hand.

She led him by the hand out into the hallway. She wanted to go for a walk to clear her mind. But with all of the senators still crowding the halls and arguing, it probably didn't help much. "The Council and the Military are sending me _back_. I want to stay beside you, I really do, but-" She grumbled.

"I'm sure I'll be fine here. Coruscant is still a fortress. And I'm sure you'll be okay out there. You always are".

"But this isn't just the droid army this time. This is the Sith Empire we're talking about. They're our ancient enemy. Every Jedi is taught about them until their instructors are blue in the face. You don't know what I'm up against, but I do. I-"

Lux cut her off, trying to reassure her.

"'Soka, it's going to be fine. You're not fighting the Empire by yourself, and with your comrades, you're going to drive the Sith back again. I mean, it's been done before. They won't reach Coruscant".

"But what if..." She stopped herself and looked away, clasping her arms around her waist tightly. "You don't understand. Whenever I leave people I care about behind to go to war, something horrible happens," She said, subtly alluding to Anakin, who died while she was on Mandalore, far away. "I don't wish there was, but there always is... Somebody is going to die, and I can't bare to let that happen when I'm out there, powerless to stop it from happening, I-"

Before Lux let Ahsoka finish her sentence, he was pulling her arms around to face him, and pull her closer, lightly wrapping his arms around to hug her. He couldn't tell if he was forcing her, or if it was by her own free will. But then, to an abrupt jolt, he felt her hands sliding up his jacket to curl around his shoulders. Then, the side of Ahsoka's head was against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"Ahsoka, everything is going to be fine." Lux ran his hands up her back until they rested on her shoulder blades. "I w-will be fine..., knowing that _you're out there_ , keeping us safe."

She chuckled, and Lux felt her Lekku slide against his jacket as she looked up at him. "I knew that this conversation was going to happen, but I imagined it to be the other way around."

"What? You're more nervous than me?" He chided.

"Now, how can you tell?"

"How can you?" Lux talked back.

"I used to be a Jedi, remember".

Lux smiled. "Like I was going to forget anytime soon".

Ahsoka shrugged and escaped from Lux's grasp, and started walking towards a flight of stairs that led up to a different, and less crowded, level of the building. Lux looked around and saw people that were staring, and then grasped why she was moving away: It was too much of private talk to be eavesdropped on.

So he followed as she guided up the stairs.

Even though she was wearing boots, every step she took was soft as _feathers_ , While Lux clunked behind with his metal plated boots.

 _Creak, plop, creak, plop_

Once they made it out of ear distance from everyone, Ahsoka continued to vocalize with her flawless voice. "Lux... sometimes I wish... " She said before she stopped herself for the billionth time.

"Yes, yes, yes?" Lux asked, egging her on, moving faster to keep up with her.

"Well...," her voice was starting to get sly. "What if I wasn't in the army... And we were living together..." Her flirtatious attitude was sparking. "Where would that be-"

"Onderon..." Lux interrupted.

"Yeah, but what about a new setting where we can live alone, perhaps have-"

"Onderon..." Lux blurted out. "It's no contest."

She turned her head around to face Lux, and he could've sworn that her saw her wink. "Unless it means having me or not."

"And what if it's still a 'no contest'?" Lux asked.

Ahsoka giggled and turned her back to him again. "Come now, do you really think you can fool me anymore?"

"I'm not that predictable," Lux countered as he followed after her.

"Only to me".

Those words surprised Lux. They were the exact words that he said to her when they were having a similar conversation about predicability back during the Onderonian civil war. He decided to play along.

"Only to who?" He joked with her.

"To me, Lux, and you know how _easily_ predictable you are."

"Exactly where you're wrong; everyone, not just you, knows I'm predictable to the point that it isn't difficult anymore". He said as he walked passed her and led her further down the hall.

"And where are you going with this, again?" Ahsoka asked, as they they made it to the end of the hallway, before Lux reached out to open the door.

He smiled as he pressed the buttons on the keypad.

"Up..." he answered.

She had a blank look on her face as she thought about his answer.

"Up? Up where?"

The door hissed open, and Lux walked. He was walking into a maintenance corridor, where he found a ladder. He pressed a few buttons on the keypad and opened an access hatch at the top of the ladder, which led to the roof. He then started climbing the ladder, all while Ahsoka stood at the bottom, looking up with interest.

"Ningependa kuja, ndani ya." Lux spoke in Onderonian.

"What?" Ahsoka asked before she jokingly placed a hand on her Lekku. "You'll have to translate."

Lux looked down and cleared his throat, so that he could call down to her from the top of the ladder. "I'd like to come up here..." Lux said before he climbed over the top of the ladder and walked up onto the rain-dropped rooftop, before gazing out at the surrounding skyline. Then he looked back down at the ladder and saw that Ahsoka was still standing around at the bottom of the ladder. "Are you coming up?" He called out.

She _wasn't_ looking at Lux.

"Yeah, er, yeah... I'll be there in just a second."

Lux saw her take her lightsaber out and slash the control panel for the access hatch.

"Coming!"

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Korriban, home world and staging ground for Sith forces under Darth Malgus_.

Korriban.

The ancient homeward of the Sith.

Also known as Pesegam during the reign of Xim, and also known as Moraband by the time of the Clone Wars, was the sole planet in the Horuset system, located across the galaxy from Koros Major. It was the original homeworld of the Sith species and a sacred planet for the Sith Order, housing the tombs for many ancient and powerful Dark Lords of the Sith, and containing immense dark side power.

Now, it was once again under the control of the Sith Empire, who were using it as a staging area for their fleets and armies.

At the center of this great staging area was the Valley of the Dark Lords, originally known as the Valley of the Sleeping Kings, was a valley and burial ground of the Sith Lords of Korriban. Originally constructed by the planet's natives as a burial ground for their kings; the Exiles of the Jedi Order who came to be known as the Dark Lord of the Sith added their own tombs to the Valley. Along with several prominent tombs, the Valley was home to the ancient Sith Great Temple and the Sith Academy which would loom over the Valley, abandoned, for several millennia.

But not anymore. It was the headquarters for Darth Malgus, the supreme commander of the Sith Empire's Northern armies and fleets.

In the main temple, Darth Malgus and several other Sith masters kneeled before a hologram of Darth Sidious, who stood above them.

"What is thy bidding, Lord Sidious?" Darth Malgus asked.

Darth Sidious looked down at the Sith masters before him. His hands were clasped together in front of him, over his mouth. His face was still half-obscured by his hooded robes.

" _My informants within the Republic military and Senate have informed me that the Republic naval forces in the outer rim have become isolated, while the rest flee to the core. I am deeply impressed by your actions, thus far._ " Sidious complimented.

Malgus and his colleagues continued kneeling with their heads bowed.

"It is our duty to serve you with the utmost success, master," he said.

" _Then you will continue to do so. Take your fleets and armies and attack the Core_." Sidious ordered.

Malgus was the only Sith that was there to raise his head to Sidious in response to what he just ordered them to do. But the others took planes at one another to see how their colleagues reacted.

"You can't be serious! The Core is a fortress. If we attack the Republic head on, then it will be a slaugh-Geee-AH-HA-AAAHHH!" Malgus said before he was suddenly levitated above the ground, and his throat was suddenly being squeezed by Darth Sidious, who began to clench one of his hands into a nearly closed fist, choking the young Sith Lord.

 _"I care not! You will do as I say, or I will find someone who will!_ " Sidious exclaimed before his hologram disappeared, leaving Malgus to fall onto his hands and knees before breathing in as much air as possible, before coughing viciously.

When he got his breath back, he used the force to send the holoprojector that was used to project Sidious' image flying into a stone column, where it was smashed into tiny pieces.

"That old fool thinks that I'm expendable? Me? Our Empire?" Malgus shook his head. "He will soon learn not to underestimate us!" He monologued.

His colleagues nodded.

But until they could rise up to earn the respect they demanded, it was back to business as usual: following the orders of a man that saw them as cannon fodder.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **That's part 31 folks.**

 **Hope you enjoyed, and hope that you leave your thoughts down in the review section. By the way, the last scene was heavily inspired by another clone wars fanfic called ' _Where Doesn't It Hurt'_ by author Itsatrap101, including when Lux spoke in a different language.**

 **I'll be working on part 32 soon.**

 **Until next time, the is Grubkiller, over and out.**


	32. Chapter 32-Storm of Emotions

**Have no fear, Grubkiller is here.**

 **Hey folks, here is part 32 of this story.**

 **Disclaimer: One scene is heavily inspired by** **by the clone wars story 'Where Doesn't it Hurt' by ItsaTrap101, one of my favorite fanfics of all time. Another is heavily inspired by one of Wolf1291's clone wars stories.**

 **Lemons incoming.**

 **Read, Enjoy, and Review.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Kaas system, center of the Eternal Sith Empire_.

Dromund Kaas.

A harsh forested planet just outside the borders of the Galaxy.

This civilization was run by a Sith commanded Military Junta. They've been running the show ever since, from their headquarters in the Citadel tower, which was also home to many prominent Sith lords.

Everyone here prided themselves on dealing with hardship and sorrow.

Long before the Clone Wars, they were defeated in a number of massive, never-ending conflicts with the Jedi and the Republic. These remnants of the Sith Empire eventually settled on this remote planet. This led to Kaas City's rise from a small settlement into a massive metropolitan area in the middle of a military fortress, after conquering the thick, inhospitable jungle that surrounded it.

Ever since they were exiled, the citizens that helped colonize this planet were taught one thing: revenge. Revenge against the Republic and the Jedi who defeated them. And because they conquered this new life for themselves, they felt unstoppable.

But because of the harsh jungle, many people were forced to fend for themselves from everything on the food chain.

Many people didn't last long.

But those who survived conquered the planet for themselves, creating the base for a powerful Empire that spanned several star clusters.

They became the revived Sith Empire.

They were discovered and attacked by the CIS during the Clone Wars. After several failed attempts to take the planet, Darth Sidious went in, and killed the Sith Empress. He then offered the ancient Sith order a choice.

Join or Die.

Many of them joined.

But many more died.

 _(A/N: Read Clash of the Sith Lords)._

But their loyalty was about to pay off.

A hologram of Darth Malgus, a bald man with a reasonable build, went up to the podium. Stage lights were pointed at him. Holo-cams pointed at him projectd his image on big screens for people across the city to see.

Down in the streets below the Imperial Citadel, hundreds of citizens and soldiers stood in their tight ranks. People stood on the sidewalks to watch as well.

The wind caused the Sith Imperial banners that they were holding to flap in the breeze. The banner was a Red flag, with a white circle in the center. And in the center of that circle was the black hexagonal emblem of the Empire.

Malgus' hologram stood over the podium, his hands grasping either side of it.

The Sith soldiers and citizenry froze. Not a word was spoken.

" _My people... Sons and Daughters of the Sith Empire... For many years, we have been a broken nation: shunned, oppressed, and conquered by those we sought to escape. Ten centuries ago, we asked for time, and that time was granted by you". Malgus_ said _._

His soldiers and people continued to look up at him in utter silence, hanging on his every word.

Malgus held a fist in the air, the power symbol.

 _"You: the strength in the Empire's arm, the holders of our dreams... "_ he continued, spreading his arms out to his people, giving them praise _._

 _"Many years ago, our forefathers embarked on the greatest exodus in the history of all galactic history. An exodus for freedom, Dromund Kaas became that freedom"._

As he spoke, people thought about how the people were flown away on every ship that they could find, escaping from the Republic, who were on the warpath, and settling a new planet.

 _"Our new world changed our civilization,"_ Malgus said.

People thought back to the history of when they first settled here. People had to be armed at all times, because they all had to become hunters or gatherers, to build structures and kill every wild animal and plant trying to kill them. But even then, most people didn't last long.

 _"At first, it ravaged us, but in fact, we were becoming... stronger,"_ he continued, alluding to the people's adaptation to the harsh climate.

 _"In the time you have given us, we have rebuilt our nation, we have rebuilt our strength, and we have rebuilt our pride!"_

Elsewhere, thousands of Sith troopers marched through the streets, carrying their Imperial weaponry, with dozens of Imperial tanks and armored viechles moving down the roads. Sith controlled Imperial fighters flew across the sky, escorting gunships. Sith Imperial Star-Destroyers, painted with the same shade of gray as every other Imperial ship, with a black hexagonal emblem painted on the flanks, hovered above the cities and made for orbit.

 _"Our enemies at home have been re-educated; we have given them new insights into our cause,"_ he said, just as Anti-Palpatine citizens across the planet were being executed by Pro-Palpatine soldiers in front of their own homes.

 _"On this day, we stand united once more,"_ Malgus continued, as Star-Destroyers went south towards Republic territory in the Core and Clonies regions of the galaxy.

 _"On this day, those driven to divide us will hear our voice! On this day, we shall act as one, and we shall be ignored NO MORE!" Malgus_ continued.

Republic and Imperial warships hammered away at each other. These Imperial ships were upgraded with new shield technology and more powerful weapons that were being developed by Imperial scientists on Byss. Their weapons were more lethal because of it.

Republic warships held their ground and inflicted heavy casualties on the Sith Empire and their Separatist allies. But some warships lost their shields, their armor being torn apart from the power of the Sith weaponry. Imperial warships continued to besiege the isolated Republic fortress worlds in the Colonies, in order to try and pierce through the Core and march on Coruscant.

On several planets on the outer fringes of the Core worlds, Imperial fleets hovered above many cities that were at the hart of Republic space

Sith Troopers, their armor painted black and red, with their visors glowing red to strike fear into the hearts of Republic citizens, rushed out of their gunships to subjugate the citizens.

Sith stormtroopers flooded the cities, killing anyone who so much as shook a stick at them.

Resistance fighters were put down.

Random civilians were rounded up and executed publicly.

As cities burned and warships were turned into floating debris fields in space, the Sith advanced, cutting a swath across the galaxy, and not stopping until they've gained their 'place in the universe' or died trying.

 _"Defenders of the Eternal Sith Empire..." Visari continued. "...NOW IS OUR TIME!_ "

The people down in the streets raised their fists in the air.

The soldiers very enthusiastically waved their imperial banners, their heads held up with pride.

Pride that they've never felt before.

And yet, that pride was unmistakably Imperial.

Everyone down below, civilian and soldier, officers and noblemen, man or woman, began to cheer.

They then started to chant victory slogans.

 _"FOR THE EMPIRE!"_

 _"LONG LIVE THE EMPEROR!"_

 _"DOWN WITH THE REPUBLIC!"_

 _"DEATH TO THE JEDI!_ "

Darth Malgus smiled. The Sith people have finally cut away the disease of demoralization that has rendered them terminally ill for too long.

After admiring the scene before him for a few more moments, Malgus shut his hologram projection off, leaving the Imperial citizens and warriors to continually cheer on the glory of the Empire, and for the downfall of the Republic.

It was time for the people of Sith Empire to carve their name into the blood stained brick wall of history.

And the chisel, with which they would carve it, was their newest ruler: Darth Sidious.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Senate Building rooftop_.

Lux watched as Ahsoka force jumped through the maintenance hatch just as it closed behind her. She then immediately snuck her head onto his shoulder, as she adjusted her footing from the rooftop that curved down.

They looked up to see if their were any stars, but then they remembered that it was a cloudy night. Not a single light came from the sky as was usually the case with Coruscant's sea of stars. But it did come from a few Venator-class warships that hovered above the skyscrapers, which were also lit up.

 _'No, we can only look around, perhaps far out into the horizon'._ Lux thought.

They both lied down on the roof together, with Ahsoka's back pressed into Lux's front as they spooned with each other.

Galactic City had many opulent silvery buildings that towered above the surface of Coruscant. Many of them had verandas that allowed people to look down on the city below, and others were topped with lovely little gardens... There was a definite richness on not only the skyscrapers, but also the theaters, libraries, and sports stadiums across the planet's surface. Some of them floated on platforms that usually hung above the skyline, except for today because of the Navy. However, the one thing that was cut off from the opulent glow of Coruscant's surface, was the notorious underworld.

Sure people got along for the most part in the lives they built for themselves on Coruscant, but their was always an air of mystery in the other version of Coruscant deep beneath their feet. Ahsoka, as Lux came to learn, was apart of the rough crowd down there, for a short while anyway...

"It's so beautiful from up here..." Lux said as he held his 'Soka's stomach with one hand, and used the other one to explore her body. "We should try to come up here more often. It has a nice view, and it's nice and quiet".

Ahsoka mumbled, and Lux felt her hips moving and wiggling, against his _lap_... It felt strange, but nice, as her warm, voluptuous rump acted as a cushion for his midsection.

Sighing in delight, Lux raised his free hand to rub her shoulders, earning little giggles from her.

 _'Oh, I'm so lucky! After all this time, I finally get to have her like this, all to myself..._ ' Lux thought to himself as he stroked randomly all over her; around her arms and legs and stomach (but not any higher)... he even started to play with her Lekku slightly, watching them slide around her shoulders, sometimes dropping them so they could perk right back into place...

Although he couldn't hear or see her reactions, Ahsoka's eyes were closed, and she was lightly humming to herself. Her Lekku began to purr. She was in pure bliss right now.

"So..." she moaned, "What do you plan to do with me?"

Lux smiled. He loved how she straddled on the roof's edge. He remembered how she rode on the Ruping back on Onderon with him, both during the civil war and when they went joy riding since the war ended. He remembered how she had her arms wrapped around his torso to hold on tightly.

 _'Now, it's your turn... my little 'Soka'_. He thought to himself as he pulled her more tightly into his embrace.

He pointed up to the clouds above them.

"See up there?" He asked as he placed his chin on her shoulder, and guided her range of vision to where he wanted her to look, above the ships and towers within view, and up at the clouds above them.

"Yeah..." She said hesitantly.

"Th-that, Love, up through the clouds, is Onderon. That will be our home... We can eat up the rays of sunlight, hold hands..., perhaps have a pool set up-"

She reached down and squeezed the hand that was on her stomach. "Take it easy Luxie... I don't wish to be spoiled, you know. The Jedi taught me-"

"I know..." he interrupted, "But _imagine_ what it would feel like."

Ahsoka tried to shake her head while in this position, but Lux prevented her from doing it. "I _can_ imagine, I just don't _want_ it".

"Are you saying that you don't want _me_?" Lux asked, making fun of Ahsoka.

"No," she said defensively, trying to explain herself, "I just don't want all those amenities... I'd rather find myself spoiled by only you, not by how much you can buy for me."

They both remained silent for a few moments, s they continued to look out over the cloudy night skyline of Galactic city. Lux continued to hold her stomach, periodically running his hands up and down, enjoying the warmth that permeated her bodysuit.

"What do you want to do after I get back from the war?" Ahsoka asked.

"Well... wh-when it's over. We can settle down and... perhaps get married," he said.

He didn't see it, but her half-closed eyes opened up even wider when he suggested that to her. Her heart started to beat really fast. Thoughts were buzzing through her head at a thousand miles a minute. Marriage was a _very_ touchy subject for her. They'd only been together for a few months, and even though Ahsoka loved Lux dearly, it was too early. And people of her species having children with humans was incredibly rare due to how different their species were.

"I, uh, er-" she stuttered.

Lux lowered his head into her shoulder, trying to hide the embarrassed look on his face.

He sighed.

"I get it. I'm sorry that I even brought it up-" Lux said, with defeat in his voice.

"No no, Lux, I..." she stopped herself, trying to pick her words carefully, "It's okay for us to have this conversation about our future, but I just don't feel ready for marriage yet. Can we talk about something else? Can we talk about living on Onderon, and maybe about going into the jungles and exploring the landscape?"

Lux nodded.

"Okay... okay..." he said before he began to nuzzle his face into her montrals, whilst running his hands up and down her waist. "I... i would love to go out there on free days. I used to take afternoons on the Rupings with my parents, over the jungles and canyons... We'd go to the caves or waterfalls or...-" Lux shook his head as tears welled up in his eyes from all of the joyful memories. "Each day was always another adventure..."

"What do you mean? You have _me_...?" She asked, curious over Lux's words.

"Not you, 'Soka... I mean, my life seemed to no longer have meaning until _you_ arrived... I was cautious and confused that I couldn't make anything out... Until I saw you..., and heard you talk..."

Lux felt his chest tighten around his heart, then ignored it to lean over Ahsoka's shoulder to kiss her cheek.

 _'At least I have her to recreate those fond memories I had as a child,_ ' Lux thought to himself.

He continued to cradle her cheek with his lips, nuzzling his nose against her warm, fiery skin... Ahsoka sighed before agreeing, "I-I'd like to have afternoons like that... Perhaps a race or a swim by one of those waterfalls, just we did on Shili..." She said as she raised her hand behind her and placed it on Lux's cheek, pulling his head closer, keeping his lips where they were. "Every day, an adventure..." She said, repeating what Lux said earlier.

As Ahsoka closed her eyes and sighed in response to the bliss that she was feeling, Lux was still stroking the sides of her waist, sending shivers up and down Ahsoka's spine, from her neck, to her rump, and throughout her body.

She quickly noticed Lux's traveling fingers and decided to ignore it, wanting to see where they'd end up as they travelled lower. She shivered with excitement when Lux's curious hands found their way underneath their skirt, where they grasped onto her rump.

Ahsoka sighed, before she began to gently and slowly move her hips, and rub them against the growing bulge in Lux's midsection.

Lux loved this part about her: The way she didn't back away from him, or reject his advances.

On the contrary, she accepted them.

"Okay... okay..." she said with her eyes half-closed as he held her hips against his midsection, and continued kissing her cheek tenderly. She looked over her shoulder to look at him. "Can... can you spin me around so I can face you...?"

Lux grudged a little before seeing her lift her legs straight, as he picked her up by her waist. He spun her to the side, then again so that she could face him. Still on their sides, they were now facing each other...

 _'Oh, how I wish the moon was out, so that it could glow against her face_ ', Lux thought to himself. But when she opened them again, he could see that they were just as illustrious as ever.

Ahsoka grabbed Lux by his collar, and brought him in for one, wet kiss... A long, straightforward kiss...

Lux's eyes were wide open. But then, he closed his eyes and puckered his lips just in time to feel Ahsoka's lips wrapping around his own, before exploring his mouth with her tongue. He placed his hands on her waist and pulled her closer, causing her to push her bust against his chest, her plump breasts acting as cushions between them.

As they continued kissing, Lux felt a certain kind of pain deep inside himself. One that his 'Soka couldn't sense... But at the same time, they both felt that pain could not exist between them... Not now, for as long as they held each other dearly.

* * *

In a Star-Destroyer, deep in the Galactic Core, the Emperor's enforcer sat down in his private chambers. He was mediating in a large pod while sitting on a mat in the center, while wearing the same leather tunic that he wore as a Jedi, but with robes over it.

This is where he spent most of his free time, dwelling on the past, training in the ways of the dark side, and thinking about his beautiful wife.

His wife, Padme Amidala, who was stolen from him at the hands of the Jedi, who betrayed him and the chancellor, who was the rightful leader of the Republic. The Republic, which he would soon realize after, needed to be destroyed. It needed to be torn down, brick by brick, and rebuilt into something new.

Something better.

With a very powerful leader at the center.

But most of all, the Jedi needed to be destroyed, including his friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi, who he suspected was turning his pregnant wife against him. He would pay dearly with his life, and the lives of every Jedi in the galaxy.

But then one Jedi, a former Jedi, came across his mind.

The apprentice of Anakin Skywalker.

A young woman by now, that had suffered hardship after hardship in her short life, even at the hands of the Jedi that raised her, and the government that she swore to protect, and did so with honor, skill, and courage.

The thought of her still fighting for the Jedi pained him deeply.

Vader stood up from his meditation mat, and sat down in a chair, which was in front of a hologram-projector.

He pressed a few keys, and the next thing he saw, instead of a blank screen, was a hologram of Galactic City, on Coruscant. He cycled through several video feeds, from small probe droids that he had scattered across the planet.

One of them caught a feed from the Senate building.

He cycled through the video several times to zoom in, where he eventually saw a female Togruta and a male Human. They were both the same age. Why they were on the roof, he could only guess. But then he decided to pause the video, considering the position they were in. He could guess what they were doing easily enough.

He zoomed the image in more to have the Togruta girl's face blown up in the screen. When the image was zoomed in on their faces, Vader reached out and dragged the back of his knuckles down the girl's still-framed face, which was filled with love and joy, due to the young man that was in the shot with her.

But also pain and fear. Pain and fear that could help Lord Vader reunite with the girl. Pain and fear that would make her question her allegiances, and come over to her side, where she will once again become his apprentice. But this time, they would be fighting to bring real peace, real freedom, real justice, and real security to the galaxy, through his new Empire.

"Soon, apprentice, you will fight by my side once again, very soon." He said.

He looked at her again before turning off the holo-image.

"Then the galaxy will be ours for the taking."

* * *

Back on the roof of the senate building, Ahsoka and Lux were still kissing. But now, Ahsoka was on top, while Lux was laying down flat against the roof beneath them. She was still trying to devour his mouth, and push herself against him.

Her breasts slid against his chest, her pelvis slid against his, and her thighs were locked tightly around his as she straddled him, and her tongue was sliding against his. It was all apart of an urge - an intense sexual urge - to push herself into him until they became one and the same, mind, body, and soul.

Lux still held her hips, involuntarily grinding against her, and he was experiencing many wonderful feelings - mostly salacious lust - as Ahsoka's hips and thighs were locked tightly around the bulge in his ever-tightening pants.

Lux's eyes closed, and he was on the brink of complete slumber, with every nerve in his body relaxing tremendously. Her lips were sticking to his top lip and she sucked on it with moaning joy, like it was a sticky toy that children played with.

But _none_ of Ahsoka's actions were childish.

She eventually broke the kiss, and leaned back, coaxing Lux to sit up and come forward for more. But she shoved his torso back down against the roof that they were laying on.

Ahsoka looked down into Lux's eyes - smirking seductively while staring into his very soul - as she ran her hands up the side of her face. She threw her head back over her shoulders, pushing both of her front headtails behind her shoulders as she continued writhing on Lux's hips. Then, she ran her hands back down her face, and reached for her collarbone.

 _Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzip_.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the zip fastener of her bodysuit began to open, as she pulled the pull tab down her chest, allowing the cold evening air to caress her skin. Lux watched with interest as the seam of her suit opened into a 'v'-neck, that revealed her orange skin.

The pull tab reached her navel and as she pulled it further down, and when she did, she began to pull at her suit from the sides.

Finally, the tension became too strong, and the suit started to slide down her shoulders. Ahsoka could hear her heart thundering in her head as she pushed the suit down her body.

The seam of her suit brushed against her nipples, and eventually, Ahsoka's breasts plopped out of the suit with a soft sound and they happily danced as they escaped their fabric prison.

Lux didn't stop her. He couldn't, not having seen his girlfriend strip for him in several days. He only kept gawking at Ahsoka's actions, and in time, her body. The Togruta's nipples were a deep orange, like her lips. They fascinated the young Onderonian, like always.

Ahsoka then got up, took a couple short steps back, and turned her back towards Lux as she pushed the top down to her waist, where she started to push her pants and skirt down as well, slowly revealing her plump butt cheeks. They were pulled down and released from the confined space in Ahsoka's tight pants, making them quiver in her purple panties.

As Lux continued gawking, the hardened member beneath the bulge in his pants began to quiver. He felt his pulsating cock throb, and leak several drops of cum into his boxers as he enjoyed the show.

Her latex clothing was reduced to a puddle at her feet.

In nothing but her panties and heavily blushing, as Lux noticed, Ahsoka walked a few feet away, her breasts gently bobbing in an enticing manner as she did so. She closed her eyes as she lied down on the curved rooftop, and stretched her arms over her head, pressing them to the roof in a submissive, yet erotic pose.

"Do whatever you want with me," she whispered softly.

Lux just stared at his girlfriend, who had just casually stripped for him seconds ago, despite the cool outside air.

The Onderonian senator smiled and stood up. He unsnapped his two buttons before pulling his collared shirt over his head, revealing his lean abs and pecks. He then kicked his boots off before pulling his trousers and boxers down.

Ahsoka watched as his cock was pulled down and sprung up like a diving board before it pointed up, the tip hovering in front of his navel.

When he completely stripped off his own clothes, he slowly moved towards her. He had seen her naked a few dozen times, yet none of those times were on the rooftop of one of the most important buildings in the galaxy. His heart thundered in his ribcage at the excitement.

The young and beautiful Togrutan's lungs very gently moved her plump breasts up as they filled up with air, and back down as they emptied. Up and down. Up and down. In response to her heaving chest, Lux noticed, Ahsoka's rock-had orange nipples were impatiently dancing in small and subtle, yet erotic, circles.

He reached out to touch his lover.

"Ah!"

The young Togruta twitched involuntarily, being just as anxious and nervous as Lux was. The tension of making love on a rooftop on a chilly night had gotten the better of her.

Lux looked into Ahsoka's eyes, those big sparkling spheres of crystalline joy, and gently, as if cradling something incredibly fragile, placed his hands on Ahsoka, and cupped her orange breasts before gently massaging them. Even exposed like this and in the evening chill of Coruscant's skyline, his lover felt very warm.

He loved it.

After a few moments, he stopping massaging her chest, and began to slowly glide his hands over the smooth, fiery skin.

He moved closer and closer to her until finally, he was pressing his hard body against Ahsoka's.

Lux let his hands glide from her breasts up to her wrists, and grasped them, carefully pressing them onto the roof. Ahsoka was at his mercy.

He leaned closer and Ahsoka's soft breasts pushed against him. Lux kissed Ahsoka's long slender neck, usually hidden behind her bodysuit's turtle neck and two head tails, which were both still pushed behind Ahsoka's shoulders. As always, Ahsoka smelled sweet and spicy. It was a scent that he was all too familiar with ever since the warm summer day they had secretly spent together on the incredibly lush world of Shili ... although, it wasn't the planet's vegetation that _he_ had considered lush, then.

"You smell incredible, as always, my love," Lux breathed as he kissed the fiery neck again, pressing himself even harder against the young female.

"Mmmmh, so do you," Ahsoka moaned as Lux continued to kiss her, and started to grind his naked erection against her panties.

Lux's lips eventually found Ahsoka's Lekku. He bagged to nibble on one of the blue stripes. "Ahsoka..." he breathed into her neck and Lekku, as he continued to grind his cock against her increasingly wet panties, "I'm going to shake you to the core".

Ahsoka slightly quivered in anticipation and Lux savored the tiny moments that she was submissive. Lux pulled back and gazed into the blue eyes before him. That's when the young Togruta raised her head to brush her lips against Lux's in a very shy kiss, then retreated as quickly as she had advanced, smiling and blushing as she averted her eyes.

Lux smirked, thinking that it was adorable.

"Look at me, Ahsoka," he said.

Hesitantly, his shy lover obeyed.

For a long time, Lux just looked into the beautiful crystalline eyes that seemed to sparkle like the starry heavens every time he looked into them. Then, without saying a word, he dove in for the kill. Giving his girlfriend neither time nor chance to resist, he kissed her, long and passionately, using his tongue to force Ahsoka's mouth open and slide it into her before she even knew what was happening.

Lux closed his eyes and held Ahsoka's fiery wrists more firmly.

"Mmmh..." Ahsoka moaned.

Her eyes had grown wide, at first, but now they were closing as she submitted herself and let the nude Onderonian senator, and former warrior, ravage her mouth and lips, while still sliding his hardened cock against her crotch.

Her lips were soft. Softer, even than her breasts, and Lux took great pleasure in nibbling on them while he attacked the young Togruta's tongue with his own.

Ahsoka was panting heavily when their lips finally parted.

"Shall we continue, my darling?" Lux asked as he pressed his cock against her pelvis, and held it there.

His orange lover was too stunned to say anything, but the sparkle in her crystalline eyes told Lux everything he needed to know. The orange female eventually found the strength to smile, still averting her eyes as she blushed heavily.

"Yes," she said to her lover, in a begging way, "Again".

Lux smiled.

Continuing to push press his cock against her panties, he let go of Ahsoka's wrists as they kissed again. His left hand caressed his orange lover's cheek as it slid down, then slid into the crevice between Ahsoka's neck and montrals, in order to pull her closer. He also carefully rubbed the hand back and forth, carefully caressing Ahsoka's montrals. This particular move wasn't a very sexual stimulation, but it felt nice and Ahsoka didn't want him stop.

His other hand found Ahsoka's breast, and one of the fully erect nipples that had pushed into Lux's chest, and he brushed his thumb against the rubbery bud.

Ahsoka shivered and moaned softly as her hands began to glide over Lux's back. She then let them glide around his waist, and up his torso, where she racked her fingernails against his lean and muscular abs, enjoying how warm and smooth they were, in contrast to the cold, hard surface of the rooftop. She then ran her hands over his shoulders, and coiled them around his neck, where she combed her fingertips through his luscious hair, pulling Lux deeper into the kiss as a result.

They broke the kiss for a moment, so that Lux could look down at his lover, who's face was full of passion, her eyes sparkling more brightly that the starry heavens ever could.

"You know, for a strong warrior with a fiery attitude, you can be surprisingly docile," Lux commented with a smirk.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Not at all."

Lux brought both hands up to caress Ahsoka's breasts. The orange tits weren't as big as some other people's, but they were big for a skinny girl of Ahsoka's age, wider than her waist, perky, and just as wide as her hips... and he _loved_ how soft they were, how very relaxing to knead.

Usually, whenever Lux made love to Ahsoka, he would always start things off slow, wanting to prolong the pleasure between them, while not wanting to hurt Ahsoka. It was something about Lux that she found sweet and cute.

Still unreasonably afraid to hurt her, but a lot more confident that she wouldn't shatter beneath him like glass, he increased the strength with which he pushed and squashed and pulled. It felt very relaxing, sinking his fingers deep into the soft orange flesh, and he simply loved the soft quivers that went through Ahsoka when he tickled her nipples with his rubbing palms as his massage her tits.

Ahsoka bit her lips, enduring the onslaught as gracefully as she could manage. Perhaps it was the intense amount of pride that Ahsoka had felt throughout her life. Perhaps she was simply embarrassed, being made love to atop the most prestigious symbol of Representative government throughout the galaxy. Either way, she seemed desperate to suppress any and all of her bodily reactions to Lux's touch.

Her suppressions represented a challenge.

.

.

 _One that Lux was willing to take_.

He grinned excitedly, wanting to tear down the facade that Ahsoka always seemed to put up. He wanted to make her scream with joy from the rooftop. Every bit of resistance that Ahsoka offered just _begged_ for Lux to push her down and take her violently.

But he didn't.

Not yet.

Lux still wanted to prolong this as long as he could, and see how long Ahsoka could resist her urges, as well as Lux's. And hurting Ahsoka was something that he was _very_ afraid of, and he would _never_ allow himself to _ever_ do that.

Lux carefully pinched Ahsoka's nipples and was satisfied when yet another quiver went through his girlfriend.

But something was eating at him on the inside. A strange feeling.

"'Soka, I ... I'm not sure about this," Lux said, somewhat worried. "What ... what if someone catches - mmhh?!

Ahsoka leaned up and pulled Lux towards her, silencing him with another kiss.

"They won't", she simply said when their lips parted again.

Lux, reassured by her confidence, smiled.

He inclined his head and sucked the tip of one of Ahsoka's soft fiery tits into his mouth, where he relentlessly attacked the little bud atop it with his tongue.

His victim twitched, but she didn't protest.

Ahsoka moved her hands up and began to stroke Lux's hair, while also keeping his head where it was. Something that Lux didn't want her to stop.

"Ah!"

Ahsoka gasped when her Onderonian lover gently bit her nipple, before quickly continuing to suck on it, as if it were candy ... a very _erotic_ candy.

"Lux ... that... nh!"

Spurred on by the adorable reactions, Lux used his tongue to play with the 'candy' a bit longer, then pulled his head back to release the orange melon from his mouth.

He straddled Ahsoka's hips, and then reached his hand back out, thoroughly kneading that same breast with one hand, while using his thumb to play with the hard nipple, which was now more sensitive due to his caress but also glistening from his saliva.

Lux smiled down at Ahsoka - long enough for her to fully anticipate what was going to happen. That's when she saw him lean back down and push his face into the other boob, proceeding to give it the same treatment, while still kneading the first one with his strong hand.

Ahsoka's breaths grew deeper the longer Lux played with her breasts, and after much too long a period of hesitation, she finally allowed herself to be heard.

"Ah..."

The moan was very soft, almost inaudible, but Lux didn't miss it.

As he continued playing with Ahsoka's breasts, he glanced up at the flustered Togruta and grinned against the tit that he was sucking. The passion that he felt from his lover was overwhelming. He ... _fed_ on Ahsoka's arousal, letting it arouse himself in turn.

He drank in her emotions like wine. Except her emotions were more intoxicating than any alcohol ever could be.

This far into their relationship, Ahsoka had reveled herself to be nowhere near as innocent as she seemed when they first met on Raxus, but her shy reactions still made Lux feel like he corrupting something that was incredibly pure ... and he liked that idea.

Lux smirked, then used his chin to force Ahsoka's up to kiss the exposed orange neck. A soft growl escaped Ahsoka as she leaned her head back and opened her mouth, showing her species' sharp canine teeth. Her people were predators, and this showed in her on every battlefield that she ever set foot on.

But for now, with Lux, she was prey.

Although Ahsoka continued to shudder beneath Lux from the sensation, she didn't fight it. She accepted it.

Having reached the base of his lover's throat, Lux licked and kissed her there.

But the lustful senator hungered for more. He wanted, _needed_ Ahsoka. He was itching to push his lover down and rub himself against her in an erotic dance until both of their minds exploded in fireworks of ecstasy. He then started to, again, grind his pulsating cock against her panties, while he still concentrated on the quivering flesh beneath his tongue.

Lux needed this. He continued to grind and grind and grind until he gave himself the release that he's been waiting for - aaaand, there it went.

His scrotum clenched, and a throbbing, pulsating sensaion travelled up his naked shaft before his tip exploded. Lux sighed in pleasure, and opened his mouth even wider to devour Ahsoka's flesh and make her skin moisten from his hot breath, as he began to orgasm all over Ahsoka's midsection, covering her already soaked panties with his cum.

He gasped and moaned, as he rested his head on Ahsoka's shoulder, waiting for his cock to stop throbbing.

When he was finished, he sucked on her throat for a bit longer, then let his lips slide lower, in-between her voluptuous breasts and further down.

Deliberately slow, he slid down - pausing occasionally to kiss her orange belly, making her giggle - until his tongue reached Ahsoka's navel. He let his tongue play with it for a bit while he grasped Ahsoka's panties with his hands, before he tilted his head to look up.

The young Togruta was hiding her mouth behind her fist, while also nibbling on one of her knuckles, silently begging Lux to move on.

 _'So cute..._ ' Lux thought as he went to remove Ahsoka's last garment.

Slowly, the damp and slightly sticky piece of fabric came off, detaching itself from Ahsoka's crotch with a soft wet noise, and pulled it down her legs, off her feet, and off to the side with the rest of their clothes.

After a few seconds of staring at the snatch, he pushed his head forward and dove his tongue into Ahsoka's nether regions.

"Ah!"

Ahsoka gasped and twitched.

Their foreplay had done wonders, making the young Togruta aroused and wet.

Lux hugged Ahsoka's orange hips, both for support and to keep Ahsoka from escaping, then quickly and forcefully tickled Ahsoka's lust center with his tongue.

Not sure what to do with her own hands, Ahsoka began to bit one of them to endure Lux's persistent attacks on her nether regions. But then she decided to start self-pleasuring. She brought them down to her chest, where she began to massage her own breasts.

Ahsoka was now softly rocking her hips back and forth in response to Lux's wet touches. Her breaths grew deeper, and her hip movements more violent.

"L... Lux...Ynnh!"

Ahsoka yelped hen Lux stated sucking on her most sensitive spot, causing Ahsoka to grit her teeth and clench at her own breasts even harder.

Lux, not satisfied with her small yelp, started sucking until he could feel his girlfriend's body tense up, then he released her clit and continued to lap at it with his tongue.

"Lux..." Ahsoka breathed, the sound of her heated voice whispering his name sending shivers down Lux's spine.

He stopped and looked up at her.

She seemed distraught that the was stopping.

"Luh ... Lux? What..."

"Will you come for me, my 'Soka?" He asked, cutting her off.

She nodded, wanting more.

Lux grinned and pushed his head back into Ahsoka's lap and coiled his tongue around her clit.

"Ah ... Luxie, I'm ... yeh!"

The quivering Togruta gasped for air, detaching her hands from her breasts and moving them down to bury themselves in Lux's hair. Her hips twitched back, but Lux held firm. He kept massaging his lover with his tongue, tapping into the fountain of passion that lay at the center of Ahsoka.

"By the Force!"

Ahsoka moaned loudly and began to rock her hips even harder against Lux's face. The violent quivers from her body shivered, from her hollow horns and down to her toes, before body began to spasm out.

She shrieked, then suddenly went silent when the force of her orgasm punched the breath out of her. Her immobilized body shook violently. That's when Lux, knowing that his work down below was done, went back up her body until he was laying on top of her again, gently caressing her orange face. Her crystalline eyes were quivering, unfocused, but the light touches made the gasping girl smile.

That's when Lux began to press the tip of his erection against her flower, before he slowly slid it into her, making her moan loudly in pleasure.

"Nnh! UUUhhhhh! Luxie!" She moaned. "What are you doing?"

"Whatever I want to you, as you requested," Lux simply said.

Ahsoka blushed and smirked seductively before she hooked her legs around his pelvis, with what little strength she had left in her legs, and coiled her arms around his neck. She pressed her forehead against his.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Ahsoka challenged flirtatiously.

Lux smiled. He grabbed her hips and began to thrust his cock into nether regions, grunting and gasping in pleasure as he did so.

Ahsoka threw her head back in pleasure, while pulling herself up to embrace Lux, pushing her breasts up into his chest.

She shouted out in ecstasy with every thrust.

"AH! AH! AAHH! AAHHHH!"

Lux began to rock his hips at a faster rate, pounding his erect member into her sweet spot in a fast, gentle, yet pleasurable, rhythm. He tries to pound as deeply as possible, trying to feel her incredible body more intensely.

They gazed into each others eyes. He then leaned down to kiss her. They embrace each other and kiss passionately, all while Lux continued to mercilessly thrust into her over and over and over again.

As they kissed and embraced, she deepened the kiss, exploring Lux's mouth with her tongue, and enveloping his lips with her own, enjoying the taste of her own juices on his lips.

She wrapped her legs around Lux's waist, in order to feel him relentlessly slide his hardened cock into her.

But after a few moments of experiencing this new position, Ahsoka's strength failed her and she fell back on the ground, her arms on either side of her.

Noticing this, Lux stood up in a kneeling position, with Ahsoka's legs still wrapped around his waist. He was kneeling and holding Ahsoka's hips, while Ahsoka's shoulders were still on the ground. He then continued to mercilessly slam his hips into hers.

She leaned her head back and moaned in pleasure.

"Mmmmh! MMmmmmmhh!"

Though there's less skin contact between them, Ahsoka was completely at her cru-...lover's...mercy. In his kneeling position, he boldly thrusted his hips into hers, penetrating her deeply. He was moving so fast that Ahsoka felt like a machine was making love to her underneath that handsome exterior of his. Ahsoka just laid there, biting one of her fingers, and let her body be pushed around by Lux's thrusting motions, creating an enticing bobbing motion for her fiery breasts.

After a few more moments, Lux leaned forward to go back into a lying down position, allowing himself to feel the satisfaction Ahsoka's warm soft body offered.

Ahsoka finds the strength to hook her legs around Lux's pelvis again, just in time for her walls to tighten around his member and spill her juices onto his member. She moaned in ecstasy as orgasmic pleasure began to spread throughout every inch of her body. This caused him to stop his movements.

"Guh!" He grunted out with a final thrust, just as he felt a pleasurable sensation throb its way up his shaft and finally explode, deep inside of Ahsoka's nether regions.

She was amused by the expression on his face before she felt Lux shoot something warm and comfortable up her body. Ahsoka closed her eyes and gasped in deep pleasure. She arched her back, threw her head back, and pushed her melons up into Lux's chest, their nipples meeting in an erotic embrace.

"Uh! Uh! UUUhhhh!" Ahsoka moaned as she tightened her grip on Lux.

When Lux was done unloading into his gasping and twitching lover, he collapsed onto the roof next to her.

They laid side by side for a few minutes, before Lux pulled Ahsoka closer to him, forcing her to role over on her side. When they faced each other, Lux planted his lips against Ahsoka's. She moaned softly against his lips and opened her mouth to let him in and soon, they were kissing each other in a long passionate kiss, their lips smacking constantly.

They continued kissing until Lux rolled them over so that he was on his back, with Ahsoka on top of him. She broke the kiss and cuddled her head into Lux, who held her tightly against his chest. He could feel her Lekku purr vibrating against his pecks.

Lux wrapped his arms around her torso and leaned into the dip between Ahsoka's horns. "You are incredible, my beautiful little vixen," Lux said as he planted small kisses between her horns.

Ahsoka propped herself up and looked down at him.

"You're the one doing all of the work," she said, sticking her bottom lip out in a pouty look.

"True. You are quite submissive tonight," Lux said.

Ahsoka smiled mischievously.

She then reached down to stroke his cock.

"Maybe I should take over for a little while," Ahsoka said seductively as a sigh escaped from Lux's parted lips, before he leaned his head back into the roof. His member grew in her hand and she knew that he was ready.

She went down his body until her face was level with his throbbing member.

Ahsoka opened her mouth and took his tip into her mouth, keeping her eyes on him as she teased him. Since Ahsoka had time to practice on him in the months since their first time on Shili, she learned how to please him better while doing this. Lux taught her _exactly_ what he wanted her to learn. His member was too big, and required her entire mouth for the most part.

Getting his member into her mouth wasn't the hard part. But breathing with him inside was.

She continued teasing his tip, before she took the entire salty, warm shaft into her mouth.

Ahsoka bobbed her head up and down while gently rubbing her breasts against his thighs. After a few more head bobs, she took the entire length into her mouth, moaning with ecstasy as she did so. But she went a little too far and gagged a little, causing her to involuntarily pull back, but only slightly.

Despite his embarrassment, Lux once admitted that he liked it when she gagged. It made him feel good. And since it was another way to make him feel good, it made Ahsoka feel the same way.

"Ahsoka, can you use your - uuuuuuhhhh! Never mind."

She was wrapping her long tongue around his member. It slithered around his dick a few times, like a coiled spring. before she started bobbing her head up and down.

Lux moaned and threw his head back a little as he stroked her montrals gently. Ahsoka continued to bob her head up and down a few more times, with her coiled tongue stroking him. But she eventually began to gag and tear up quite a bit, since she wasn't used to having him in her throat for this long.

Not being able to handle it much longer, she jerked her head up and let go of his shaft, which was coated in her saliva. She gasped for breath, and began to shake. Tears began to stream down her cheeks, but then she felt Lux wiping them away with his fingers.

She looked up to face him, and saw the concern on his face.

"'Soka, you don't have to - mmhh!"

Ahsoka moved up his body and silenced him by kissing him as passionately as she could. He moaned against her lips, making her feel accomplished. As they continued kissing, she reached down and began to move her hand up and down on his shaft, slowly jerking him off. His eyes rolled up into his head before he closed them, and rested his hands in her hips as she straddled him. She then pushed him onto his back so that she could continue the kiss, and take control. As her breasts pushed against his pecks, his member rubbed against his stomach, causing him further pleasure.

After a few minutes, she broke the kiss and travelled back down Lux's body, while still rubbing his shaft. She stopped when her face was level with his member again, and she opened her mouth again, to finish what she started.

Lux continued moaning as Ahsoka sucked on him. She kept doing this until his pulsating cock _finally_ _exploded._ He gasped immediately, and held Ahsoka's head, while involuntarily bucking his hips to thrust into her throat, all while she gagged on his love juices.

A few seconds later, Lux sat back up, and pulled Ahsoka up into his lap. They looked at each other. Ahsoka gulped loudly, to show Lux that she was swallowing his cum.

He looked at her, concerned. "Ahsoka, you _really_ didn't have to-"

She cut him off with another kiss.

"But I _wanted_ to." She said when they broke apart.

He stared at her with a blank expression, before he nodded and pulled Ahsoka down with him.

The evening air was getting cooler, and so was the senate rooftop. It was cooler on Ahsoka's butt than it was on her breasts, but she didn't have to endure it long as the next moment, she pressed herself closely against Lux's body, and the warmth of their two bodies dominated all else. They laid down for a little while, holding each other close and kissing each other passionately, as they rubbed their hands along their bodies, their light touches making them more and more relaxed.

Ahsoka broke the kiss and looked at Lux.

"Luxie..." she moaned. "I want you. Here, now, and until we both go insane," she said, as she began to rub one of her thighs into Lux's crotch. He looked at her with stunned surprise, as his member began to harden again. After a few seconds he finally responded.

"I would love to go insane with you," Lux said, making Ahsoka smile. "But the rooftop's a little cold. Are you sure you don't want to continue this downstairs in my office?"

Ahsoka grinned as she detached herself from Lux and stood up, stretching her hands over her head, and striking a sexy pose that made Lux begin to quiver down below.

"No way. Do you know how _long_ it would take for us to change rooms? I can't keep it together that long". She said before she looked back down at Lux and smirked. "Besides, we're not going to touch the roof."

Lux looked at her with a confused look. Then suddenly, he felt himself being levitated into the air. He laid there, well above Ahsoka's head.

"Uh, wait, Ahsoka, what are you doing?" Lux asked, a little panicky.

Satisfied with the height, Ahsoka went to answer his question. She leapt up at Lux and embraced him, keeping them both in the air with the force.

"W-we're going to ..."

Lux was obviously nervous, and twitched when he felt Ahsoka tightening her grip on him, forcing him to push against her body.

"We are," Ahsoka confirmed and slid both legs around Lux's waist.

She looked into Lux's blank stare, waiting for him to make a move. Eventually, he decided to just go with it. His hands slid up her body and found her breasts, again, and he kneaded them as he gazed at the Togruta girl beneath him.

"For the record: this is crazy!" Lux protested, before he kissed Ahsoka's neck again, and then began to slide his throbbing member back into her flower.

Ahsoka's closed her eyes and threw her head back, before burying her fingers into Lux's hair, and tightening her legs around his waist.

"Yes, it is."

After a few minutes, Lux became very interested in this new sex position that Ahsoka introduced him to, and by extension, became more interested in plundering her beautiful, quivering body.

 _'Soft, Ahsoka is so soft, so incredibly soft.._.' Lux kept thinking to himself, as he pushed himself harder and harder into the orange body beneath him, as they both continued to levitate about the roof.

He always did think that Ahsoka was a girl of many talents. She was a warrior and a hunter. And also a young, clever girl who was brave, caring, and gentle. She was also a great, and mischievous soulmate who knew _exactly_ how to please her man.

' _I'm just glad she introduced me to this position before she had to leave_ '.

But then it hit him.

Thinking about the war was a mistake, and he immediately regretted it. But his regretfulness did nothing to prevent fresh tears from drowning his eyes. He tried to fight off the ensuing waterworks, but he failed, and his tears began to fall from his face and mixed in with the sweat on Ahsoka's body.

Ahsoka noticed that the storm of pleasure was dying down, and she looked at Lux, only to find out that he was upset.

"Lux..." Ahsoka said, clearly taken aback by his sudden distress.

Ahsoka said nothing else. She only reached up and pulled Lux's head down onto her chest, gently caressing it.

Lux closed his eyes and let her, but his sobs only gradually started to die down.

Slowly, the two levitating lovers sank towards the building until they laid down on the roof that they had wanted to avoid. Ahsoka shuddered when her back touched the cold surface, but she didn't complain.

They stayed like that, for a while.

Lux listened to Ahsoka's steady and relaxing breath and felt the orange chest heave and sink in sync with it, gently pushing his head up and down.

"Hmmm...", Ahsoka purred, trying to get a word or two out of Lux. "You sure know how to treat a girl to a good time, Luxie."

Lux knew that she was trying to probe him with small talk and compliments. He invented this move, after all.

He pulled himself back up and looked into his girlfriend's sparkling crystalline eyes.

"I'm sorry, I lost my nerve a second ago."

"It's alright", Ahsoka smiled. "I'm - I can understand."

Ahsoka didn't have to be a Jedi - or a part-time one - to figure out what Lux was going through right now. He wasn't just upset that she was leaving him to go off to war. He was afraid that she would one day join a long list of people who he cared for that died.

Waiting for her to get home was going to be excruciating.

Lux looked down into Ahsoka's glitter-like gaze and began to stroke her sweet smiling face.

"Thank you, 'Soka. If there's a way that I can make it up to you ..."

"There is!"

Lux's eye brows flared up in response to the unexpected interruption.

"Y-yes?" He asked.

Ahsoka blushed and mumbled something, then averted her eyes.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't catch that".

The former Togruta Jedi took a deep breath and looked straight at Lux.

"I... I said ... uhm ..." Her blush grew even brighter and hotter, but she didn't break eye contact. "Please t-take me, already!"

Lux's mouth fell open.

For a moment, he gawked at Ahsoka, then slowly, his mind started to register what he had just heard, and it started to rekindle his earlier desire to rub himself against his submissive girlfriend, who began to blush even more heavily and averted her eyes.

Then they heard a knock on the maintenance hatch that led to the roof a few feet away. It was the same that they used to get up here, and that Ahsoka had shut by cutting the door panel with her lightsaber. They both looked behind them while in their positions, to look at the door.

Their hearts stopped for a second.

Someone wanted in.

 _'Hello! Why is this door locked? Is someone up here? Open this door!'_

"Or just bury me now," Ahsoka mumbled, clearly embarrassed.

"I'm so not going to let you forget this", Lux threatened with a smirk, then thrust his hardened cock down into Ahsoka's crotch. His lover leaned back and spread her legs slightly, allowing him easier access.

"Uh! Uh! Uh! I originally brought you down here to distract you," Lux said in between grunts.

Without uttering any warnings, Lux began a slow but steady hump, rocking his body back and forth, gliding over the smooth orange skin of the girl beneath him, and thrusting his cock as deeply inside her as he could.

Oh, I'm distracted, alright." Ahsoka moaned.

Lux pressed his hips even harder against Ahsoka's, making his naughty girlfriend gasp every time he moved. She, in turn, brought her fangs to Lux's neck, half kissing and half biting.

Lux, in turn, nibbled on her Lekku, whilst cupping her breasts and playing with them. Ahsoka shuddered beneath Lux, offering no further resistance whatsoever.

"So violent," Ahsoka breathed as she moved her arms higher above her head, thereby pushing her soft breasts up into the wild Onderonian ravaging her.

"Are -ynh!"

Ahsoka twitched. Then Lux decided to detach his lips and teeth from her throat, and instead gently bit into the rubbery buds atop his lover's breasts.

As if apologizing from the unexpected sting, he quickly sucked the tip of Ahsoka's tit into his mouth and caressed the now more sensitive buds with his tongue, all while still thrusting his hips into her's/

"Ahh! F-force!"

Ahsoka moaned loudly. Her attacker grinned briefly, then continued.

 _'Yes, my 'Soka... give in to me..._ '

"Ah!"

Unbeknownst to Ahsoka, a spirit deep inside of her was using the force to make her more aware of her nipples, and feel them being massaged more intensely. It was a very subtle thing to do ... but very effective. She gasped and moaned and bucked, moving Lux up and down with every movement, as if he were riding a wild animal. Ashoka's breath came in small but fierce bursts that slightly tickled when they stroked the back of Lux's neck.

"Dear God, you feel wonderful!" Lux whispered to the young Togruta beneath him, releasing her soft orange tit from his mouth and replaced his tongue with his fingers.

Ahsoka tried to say something in reply, but her heated gasps were the only thing escaping her throat - gasps that Lux was further aroused by.

"Lahuuxxx ..." Ahsoka finally managed.

His lover's near-orgasmic voice made his heart thump. But this time, there was no need to hold back; this time, he could let himself go wild.

Let _them_ go wild.

Lux moved his hips with precision. Quickly, and with a small circular motion in his thrusts, his pulsating cock mercilessly pounded into Ahsoka's sensitive nether regions, sending wonderful shocks of ecstasy through both their bodies.

"Hrrrrh..."

Lux gritted his teeth and forced himself to keep moving, even as the pleasure started to tear at his consciousness.

"Luxie ..."

A pair of gentle orange hands caressed Lux's cheeks then carefully pulled his head down. The next thing he knew, he was already kissing some very soft orange lips.

Lux briefly gazed into the sparking blue eyes of his lover, and then closed his own.

"Nh ... mmh ..."

It was a strange feeling, being moaned at during a kiss, but it was also intoxicating. He could feel the vibrations of Ahsoka's voice, almost as if they were his own - and in the chaos of their passion, who could tell the difference?

"Mh .. hnh .. hh - ah! Hah!"

The moment they parted their lips, the muffled moans grew lewdly loud, drowning out the squelching sound their wet privates made every time they clashed. Neither of them cared - passion had long swallowed them and all that mattered was the next thrust, and the next, and the one after that...

Lux noticed that Ahsoka's body was gently quivering, and his own hips and legs were shaking from the physical endeavor. But he ignored his tired body, and focused on the moaning Togruta he was lying on instead.

He had always thought Ahsoka was beautiful, boasting a perfect athletic body, and her sparkling blue eyes that so nicely contrasted with her fiery skin, giving her an exotic look that left many girls feeling envious.

 _But_ , he realized, the orange alien girl had never looked more beautiful than right now, quivering beneath him on the brink of orgasm, desperately trying to prevent the release that eventually must come, _challenging_ Lux to break her.

And he wanted - no - _needed_ to break her.

Aready, Ahsoka's pleasure was intoxicating, seeping into Lux and filing him as if it was his own, and Lux shuddered in anticipation of how they would feel when he finally managed to tear down the stubborn Togruta's defenses.

He had no idea how he could feel his lover's emotions so intensely, but it felt incredible, and he needed more ... so much more.

"Lux!"

The heated shriek pulled Lux's consciousness back to the rooftop.

Ahsoka was wildly bucking now, hugging Lux, firmly pulling his fair skinned body against her own, and violently grinding herself into Lux's movements, amplifying their force.

"Nnnnnh - Luxie!"

Ahsoka hugged Lux even more tightly, then the next instant, all her strength failed her, and her body fell back, going into spasm.

Pure white pleasure rained down on Lux and he grunted and gasped as Ahsoka's orgasm became his own. Then everything disappeared behind white veil of blinding, pulsating pleasure, an when Lux finally opened his eyes again, all was quiet - except for their exhausted breaths, of coarse.

Lux closed his eyes and laid his head down onto Ahsoka's breasts. The soft orange cushions moved up and down with each of her forceful breaths.

Neither of them said anything, and Lux just listened to the relaxing sounds of Ahsoka's breathing and expeditious heartbeat.

* * *

"Your terrible", Ahsoka complained.

"Huh?"

Ahsoka looked at her confused boyfriend. They were both dressed again, and Lux - like she - was fighting to his tired body to stand.

"I was emotionally vulnerable and you shamelessly took advantage of it."

Lux's greenish gray eyes widened in shock.

"No! I didn''t - I would never ... and to be completely fair-"

Before he could finish, Ahsoka closed the distance between them with a couple quick steps. Then, as Lux recoiled in fear, she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a wet, passionate kiss.

They kissed for a few seconds before Ahsoka broke the kiss and looked into Lux's eyes. "Thank you. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't...mmmm...distracted me," Ahsoka said as ran her nails down the front of Lux's jacket.

Lux's stunned look slowly turned into a grin, and he placed his hands on her waist.

"I was happy to oblige my 'Soka," he said before he pressed his lips against her's, whilst running his hands up and down her waist.

Ahsoka moaned as she pulled her boyfriend deeper into the kiss.

They broke the kiss, and she rested her forehead against his. Then she kissed his cheeks. Then she kissed his forehead and rested against it again. They stayed that way for a while, before she spoke up again.

"Now, let's get off of this roof, I need to feel warmth from something other than our body heat".

Lux nodded his head and smiled.

"Of coarse."

Since the door panel was damaged down below, Ahsoka had to open it from outside with the force. She concentrated on the metal and slowly pulled the doors apart. When they were fully opened, Lux went down the ladder first. When he was inside, Ahsoka dropped down through the door just as it closed shut above her. She grabbed the ladder, then she back flipped over Lux and down onto the ground.

She turned around and saw that Lux was almost down the ladder. When he was down, he turned around took Ahsoka by the arm.

"Let's go home and get some rest," Lux said.

Ahsoka thought about what he just said.

' _Yeah, because it'll be a long time before I can get some rest with him'_.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Republic distress signal_.

 _"To any Republic forces able to receive this transmission, we are under attack! The Sith Empire is breaking through. If we can't hold them off here, then the War is lost. If you are recieiving this, stand and fight. The Empire will not stop until we make a stand. Resist them always. May the Force be-FFFFFZZZZZZZZZ!"_

Transmission ends _._

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant Military District_.

The next day, after waking up and having breakfast together, Lux decided to drive Ahsoka over to the 501st's staging area.

As they flew off into traffic, Ahsoka, who was wearing a hooded Jedi robe over her post-Jedi outfit, looked out the window. She didn't see any civilian traffic today. All she saw were military transports lifting off, ready to take off under the cover of dark morning rain clouds, carrying their human cargo to the front.

 _'Good hunting boys. May the force be with you'_.

Then she turned her head towards Lux. They didn't say anything. Ahsoka earned over and rested her head on Lux's lap for the rest of the trip.

He smiled, and, while driving with one hand, reached down to start stroking Ahsoka's Lekku. He could feel her head tails vibrating as she purred like a motor, meaning that she was relaxed and feeling pure bliss right now.

They remained silent, continuing to enjoy each other's company for as long as they could.

* * *

Their speeder landed in a landing zone that was reserved for civilian use. They stepped out of their speeder and into the heavy rainfall that hammered the pavement. Ahsoka stopped, allowing Lux to stand over her with an umbrella. She was looking at the clones and officers that were returning from leave to go back to war.

After taking the scene in, she turned to Lux.

Well, I guess this is it for now," she said.

"Wait! I have something for you. Close your eyes," Lux said.

One of Ahsoka's eye brows raised up over the other one. She was confused.

"Why?"

"Will you just do it?"

Ashoka's eye brows flared up in surprise.

"Fine," she said in a snarky tone as she turned around.

Her eyes closed.

She heard Lux open the door to his speeder, before she heard the door slam shut.

After a few seconds, Ahsoka felt something clicking against her head.

She tensed up a little.

"What the-?!" She exclaimed.

"Relax," Lux said reassuringly. "It's just something that I placed on your headdress".

Ahsoka opened her eyes. She ran her fingers along it. It was a pendant. But she felt something in front over her throat. It had an engraving of some kind.

"What is it?" She asked as she unsnapped the silver headers from her forehead and looked at it, and saw a hexagonal pendent.

"It's a stone pendent with a magnet, so that it can attach to your headdress. It has a sapphire gem trapped inside, so when you have it carved, it comes out in blue. I had it carved with the crest of house Bonteri, with your face markings surrounding it. I wanted it to symbolize how you are responsible for the continued existence of my - one day _our_ -family's lineage. And I wrote something for you on it," Lux said.

Ahsoka examined the sides of the pendant. It did indeed have the crest of House Bonteri carved in blue and surrounded by her face markings, including a small inscription written around its edge, also in blue.

It read, ' _To my dearest 'Soka. I love you, now and forever - Lux_ '.

"Oh Lux!" She gasped.

"I wanted to give it to you on our trip to Alderaan. But...," he said with a shrug. "...well you know".

"I love it Luxie," she said as she put the headdress back on her forehead, before giving Lux an innocent peck on the lips. "Thank you. And don't worry. We'll have our vacation as soon as we've kicked those Sith Nerf Herders back down whatever hole they've poked their ugly heads out of."

Lux smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist.

He held her chin with his finger and thumb.

"That's the Ahsoka I know," he said.

Ahsoka giggled before she stood on her toes and pulled Lux by his collar, bringing him in for a wet soaking kiss. Lux rested his hands on her hips while she buried her fingers into Lux's hair.

As soon as Ahsoka heard her comm-link chirping, she broke the kiss. They looked at it and saw that she'd have to get going in about 5 minutes.

"I have to go Luxie," she said as she looked at her with a pouty look.

"Don't worry my love. We'll meet again. I promise," Lux said.

Ahsoka smiled and looked in her boyfriend's eyes, as if staring off into space.

Then she got closer to him. So close that her bust was pressed up against his chest.

She placed her lips on his cheek. Then on the other cheek. And when Ashoka's lips left Lux's other cheek with a _smoosh_ sound, she reached up to kiss his forehead.

When Ahsoka was done kissing Lux's forehead, she went back down to look him in the eyes. He looked deep into her eyes, which were both filled with her desire and passion for him. Lux could even see a hint of sadness.

She, in turn, saw the pain in his eyes from all of his recent hardships, including hearing Ahsoka having to go off to war again. But his eyes were also full of passion and understanding.

Ahsoka wrapped her arms around Lux's neck and she moved closer to his lips, which she captured with her own.

Lux closed his eyes and kissed her back. After about 10 seconds, they broke apart and looked in each other's eyes. Seconds later, Ahsoka pushed her lips against Lux's again. This time, she slid her tongue into his mouth. He slithered his tongue into Ahsoka's mouth, while being mindful of her sharp canines, and they were now affectively making out. Lux slid his hands down the side's of Ahsoka's stomach until they rested on her hips. While they continued their make out session, Ahsoka arched her back and pushed her breasts even harder against Lux's chest, before bending one of her legs up as she leaned back, pulling him deeper into the kiss.

Lux broke the kiss and looked at her. He had a tear in his eye which streamed down his cheek. Ahsoka wiped it away with her thumb, while she was cupping Lux's cheeks in her hands, and spoke in a cracked voice.

"Lux, I Luh... I ..."

Ahsoka hesitated. She still rarely told Lux that she loved him. And she never did it when they were out in public.

"Yes...?" Lux urged.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too Ahsoka".

They smiled at each other.

After giving him a final peck on the lips, Ahsoka started to step away, holding his hand for as long as she could. When she was too far from him, their hands separated.

She then walked over the security door, which was guarded by two clones from the Coruscant Guard.

One of them held up his palm.

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask to see some identification," the trooper said.

She flashed a hologram of her mugshot with some information on it.

"Ahsoka Tano, Commander, female togrutan, 501st Legion," the trooper read aloud. "Everything checks out. Welcome back ma'am".

They opened the door to let her through.

Before she walked through, she looked back one last time to look at Lux.

He waved at her and he waved back. They smiled at each other.

She ripped herself away before she entered the facility.

As she walked through the corridors, she could see troopers from all kinds of different units going to wear they needed to be.

A handful of them were on their com devices, speaking to holograms of different women. A few of them, she noticed, were pregnant. Clones were bred for war. But even they got busy on shore leave. They would have to if they wanted a life outside of the military.

It made her think of how many clones probably wouldn't come home to their loved ones. This could be the last time that they see each other. Her eyes watered up a little, but she squinted her eyes shut as tight as she could, holding back the waterworks.

Then she started thinking of Lux again, and worried that she'd never see him again, but then she thought about all the times they met up due to fate.

' _We'll see each other again. We just have too.'_

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Republic staging ground for the 501st Legion, Coruscant Military District_.

Several Clone Troopers from the 501st Legion, Rex, Appo, Harcase, Tup, Jesse, Kix, Dogma, and Coric's boys were standing in front of a holoscreen, watching a video address from several Sith Lords and Imperial politicians, who all spoke of thrusting into the Republic capital and burning it to the ground. They even spoke of destroying the cloning facilities on Kamino, forcing the new batches of clones to drown in its oceans.

"Listening to this shit makes me want to brake something," Hardcase said as he banged his fist on the wall close to the holoscreen.

"Ever the diplomat Hardcase," Ahsoka said as she walked up to them.

"Ahsoka," The younger Clones said as they went up to their old officer.

They shook hands with her, gave her bro hugs and a few fist bumps.

Dogma, being more stoic, stood back and Saluted. "Commanders Tano," he nodded.

"Glad to see you kid," Rex said.

"You ready to hit the road commander?" Tup asked.

"You know it," she said.

"Well then, let's go kick some Sith Ass," Hardcase said.

Ahsoka and the clones walked through the base and found the boarding ramp that would take them to their docked cruiser. The clones went to their quarters aboard the Indomitable, while Ahsoka went up to the bridge.

* * *

Ahsoka walked through the doors to the bridge, which opened with a hiss and were guarded by Clone Trooper Marines. Ahsoka walked into the control center at the back of the bridge to see Jedi Master Belth Allusis and Rear-Admiral Autem, who commanded the battle group during the Siege of Mandalore. She saw the two men hovering over a holo-table in the control center at the back of the bridge.

Allusis looked up from the holo-table and nodded at Ahsoka. "Ahsoka, good to see you again," he said.

"Good to see you to master. Permission to come aboard Admiral?" She asked.

He smirked. "Granted."

"Have you been treating my boys well since I left?" She asked them.

"Of coarse. But we had to pull out of the Outer Rim and come here. I guess everyone else had the same idea," Master Allusis said, referring to the number of ships that were above Coruscant.

She took a glance out the viewport and saw that the airspace above Coruscant was so crowded with Republic warships, that all civilian air traffic was temporarily grounded. They had to take turns leaving. But it was an impressive sight nonetheless.

"I can see that," she said before looking back at the holo-table. "So what's the plan, Master?"

Allusis pointed to the star map and Autem picked out of one the planets.

"The Imperial fleet will most likely be attacking the Core from the North and East. We need to cover every possible entry point. So we're heading for Alderaan to stop any Sith invasion. We'll give this tidal wave something to break on," Allusis said.

"Sounds good. When do we depart?" Ahsoka asked.

A light blinked green and an alarm chimed a couple times. A clone turned around in his chair to face the Command staff. "General, we're clear for take off".

"Good. Take us out, nice and slowly".

Everyone went to their stations, and the engines began to rumble beneath their feet throughout the deck. The Indomitable and five of its sister ships (Pioneer, Coruscant Sky, Dauntless, Dagger, Coryx Moth) began to lift up out of their berths before taking off into orbit. The cloudy night sky turned into a cloudless starry night as they went into space. They joined the rest of their fleet. The engines began to power up, and the stars began to elongate, before they all shot off into the blue tunnel of hyperspace in the direction of Alderaan.

It was time to stop the Sith in their tracks.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Well, that was part 32 folks.**

 **Anyway, I'll be working on part 33 soon.**

 **Until next time, this is Grubkiller, over and out.**


	33. Chapter 33-Spark of Courage

**Have no fear, Grubkiller is here.**

 **This is part 33 of my story, 'Fall of the Republic'.**

 **It's going to be where are of the action** ** _really_** **starts. So hold on to your computers... or whatever other devices you use to observe this content. Also, I've made a few small changes to this story. Vader still uses his blue lightsaber, and I've added an extra scene to Chapter 31.**

 **As always go into this story by following my 3 R's rule: Read, Relish, and Review.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Caamas, Cirius System, Core Worlds region_.

Caamas.

A highly populated and marsh-covered Core World in the Cirius system, the second planet orbiting the star Cirius, and one of the founding worlds of the Galactice Republic over 25,000 years prior. It was also home to the native Caamasi, a very pacifistic people by nature, as well as large populations of immigrated Bothans and Ithorians.

The planet was hospitable world of jungles, marshes, steppes, and rolling hills. Its dense rainforests and jungles teemed with life.

Or at least it _used_ to.

With the re-gnition of the Clone Wars, the Sith Empire has launched a massive offensive into the Core. One of the planets that got in their way was Caamas.

With only a token Republic task force to protect it, and Sith loyalists infiltrating the planetary shield generators, the defenses were eventually swept aside, leaving the planet open for a planetary bombardment by the Sith.

The Sith fleet gathered over the planet, and began to fire their powerful turbo-lasers. The clouds glowed red before hundreds of thousands of laser bolts pierced through the sky and slammed into the surface, blasting away cities and a few small military bases that were on the surface, as well as burning away the vast forests and jungles. Within days, Caamas became a barren waste, and without vegetation to release oxygen, the atmosphere became toxic and unbreathable. Bombardment kicked up smoke and dust into the air, and the surface became wracked by dust storms and falling soot, eroding the surface and sending dirt and mud into the oceans. The waters, once teeming with sea life, were evaporated and burned away by the sheer heat of the bombardment.

But that wasn't the end of it. There was a small Jedi sanctuary on the surface. It was here that the remnants of the Republic's military presence would make a final stand, and protect what was left of the planet's populace, who hadn't been killed or evacuated yet.

Darth Malgus was personally leading the strike force that would deal with these pitiful remnants.

As his strike force marched, the landscape burned behind them, making the entire region glow orange, the smell humid air being replaced with char and ash. When they were within sight of the Jedi sanctuary, they stopped.

Darth Malgus and his fellow Sith looked out over the burning valley, and saw what looked to be a large shield dome, which contained the large, ornate gray building that served as the Jedi sanctuary. There was a large patch of greenery that still surrounded the Jedi buildings... the last of the greenery that survived the bombardment, and it was only because this shield's power source wasn't linked to the same one for the planet.

"My lord, our forces are in position. What are your orders?" One of his Sith warriors asked.

"I want our artillery units to commence their barrage. Once the Republic is softened up, we will go i and slaughter anyone who dares to remain within our path to glory," Malgus said.

"My Lord, we are receiving an urgent message from the Imperial Citadel!" An Imperial Trooper informed.

Everyone tensed up. They knew who was calling.

Malgus was clearly displeased by that.

"Put it through," he said through his gritted teeth before he and his fellow Sith kneeled.

A few seconds later, a hologram of Darth Sidious materialized in front of them.

"What is thy bidding, my lord?" Malgus asked.

Sidious looked down on his subordinates with disdain before he spoke.

" _Your advance into the Core is moving too slowly. Everyday you falter is another day that the Republic will use to mobilize against you. It is time for you to make a final push into the core. Your next target will be the planet Alderaan"_.

Everyone was confused.

"Why Alderaan?" Malgus asked, asking the same question that was on everyone's mind, while also trying to keep his rising anger in check.

" _Coruscant may be the heart of the Republic, but Alderaan has always been the soul. You will conquer the planet and capture the royal family, one member of which is a prominent Republic Senator that has been a thorn in my side for too long. With their downfall, it will serve as an example to the rest of the galaxy, and all who oppose us. The Republic will be demoralized, and it's cracks will widen, before we exploit them"_.

Magus looked up.

"But, my lord, we've been assaulting the Colonies for days now. The further we move into the core, the thicker the Republic resistance becomes, and the more losses we take. We can't go on like this indefinitely. We need time to regroup before we can launch an offensive of this scale."

Silence fell between the two of them. No one made a sound. But Sidious was less than enthused.

" _If you are unwilling to help, then I will simply find someone who will. Or perhaps, a certain Twi'lek that you know can be used to persuade you?_ "

Malgus' blood boiled as a fiery rage was ignited deep inside of him, illuminating even the darkest corners of his black soul.

"Leave Eleena out of this!"

Then he felt like he was choking before he was pressed hard into the ground by an invisible pressure.

" _Then do as I say_!" Sidious said with his hand clenched. " _Continue the offensive, or I will find someone more reliable to take your place,_ " Sidious threatened before his hologram disappeared, and so did the pressure around Malgus' throat. He shot up to his knees and sucked in a great breath.

The price of supporting Sidious, as it turned out, was nothing less than your dignity.

* * *

 _Throne Room, Imperial Citadel, Byss system_.

Back in the Byss System, Darth Sidious was sitting in his throne room, having just finished speaking to Darth Malgus. He sat back in his throne, still looking out over the fleet that was gathered outside of his throne room, which stood over his city of loyalists.

A hologram of Darth Vader was standing nearby.

" _Master, what is the point of just sending them into Republic defenses like cannon fodder? Wouldn't they be put to better use in a different manner?_ "

"They are merely a means to an end. I'm thinning them out now so that they can't be a threat in the future. The only purpose they and the Separatists have is to help us destroy the Republic. After that, they are useless to me. Now remain on your command ship, and await my orders."

Lord Vader bowed his head.

"Yes, Master."

Then his hologram disappeared, leaving Sidious to sit in his throne room.

Still contemplating.

* * *

 _Caamas_.

Darth Malgus was viciously slashing his blade back and forth against the charred remains of a tree that was still standing. As he did this, cinders and ashes flew from the tree, getting on his subordinates, who stood behind him in silent fear.

That's when Malgus stopped. He froze, standing there like a statue. The tension that was in the air was murderous.

Then he looked over his shoulder.

"Do any of you have something useful to say?"

No one said anything.

Suddenly, a squadron of Republic fighters flew out of the large dome shield that was being used to protect the Jedi Sanctuary, which was the Republic's final stronghold on Caamas. The Republic ARC-170's flew over the Sith forces and dropped their payload on the Imperial artillery, which was bombarding the shields. Explosions ripped through the Sith forces like an unfolding carpet of destruction.

Several more Republic fighters flew out of the shield and went up to the Imperial cruisers that hovered over the region. They released their payloads and dropped them over the smaller cruisers. Explosions blossomed over several of their hulls. Secondary explosions then ripped through their engines before they slowly sunk to the ground, flattening anything beneath them.

The Republic was lashing out in a final desperate attempt to drive back the Sith onslaught.

"My lord, the Republic is counter-attacking."

Darth Malgus smiled and re-ignited his lightsaber.

"Good... I need to kill something."

* * *

As Sith and Republc fighters engaged one another over the dome shield, Darth Malgus took the Imperial Army and marched through the dome shield. The difference between the inside of the shield and the outside was basically night and day. The area inside was untouched by the flaming destruction outside.

It was still beautiful.

But it had to be destroyed.

Darth Malgus was the first to pass through the shield. As soon as he did, blue laser bolts spewed out of nowhere and everywhere, flying straight towards him. he deflected everything away from him. Some of the bolts flew right back into the clones that fired them. Some of them fired grenades and rockets at him, but he raised his hand and used the force to deflect several of the projectiles away from him, before they bounced into the shield behind him, killing several of his own subordinates.

The Imperial army marched through, with tanks, walkers, speeders, and infantry. They began to bombard the Sanctuary. Explosions blossomed across the the outer walls. But as more Imperials came through the shield, more Republic fire was rained down on them, destroying everything that they hit with deadly efficiency.

Sidious told them that the clones were inflexible in combat, and led by poor leadership.

He was either a liar or an idiot.

Probably the former.

Several Jedi were leading the charge, ready to throw the Sith out of the shield. But one Sith tanker managed to locate the Republic's shield generator. The hover tank's gun traversed and elevated in the direction of the generator. It fired, using several shots to cause the shield to spark and crackle with electricity, before igniting in a ball of fire that enveloped that entire section of the base, engulfing several troopers that surrounded it.

With the shield down, Sith artillery, that was deployed in orbit and on the ground, rained down heavy fire on the Jedi stronghold.

Clones positions were ripped apart. Fighters were destroyed before they could get off the ground. Republic heavy weapons emplacements were picked off one by one. Clone Trooper units that were packed together were wiped out.

With the way nearly clear, Darth Malgus his lightsaber forward to point at the Jedi sanctuary.

"CHARGE!"

"HURAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

With a battle cry that shook the stars, the Sith Imperial Army charged forward. Their footsteps made the ground rumble beneath their feet as they rushed across the grounds of the sanctuary.

* * *

The once pristine Jedi temple was set ablaze. The planet fared no better, as the forests burned. Animals ran for their lives as their ecosystem went up in cinders and ashes

People that survived the Sith's initial onslaught, and were inside the building, screamed in terror and scattered in every direction, trying to get away from the Sith. They failed in an attempt that was already futile.

Wounded clones crawled around on the ground, screaming in agony. Sith Troopers ran up to them and fired a spray of blaster bolts into them, causing them to finally stop moving.

Blue blaster fire continued to pour out of the burning temple, mixing in with the orange cinders that came from the wall of fire. Out of the wall of fire, came the Sith Army, like a scene straight out of Hell.

Clones rushed in every direction as they scrambled to their position to repel the invaders.

"Move it troopers, on the double! Grab your weapons and get to the front gate. Move!" One of the gray-uniformed clone officers called out. Clones went up the ladders and headed straight for the outer defenses. When the men got there, clouds of dust that filled the corridors glowed orange.

When the dust cleared, they could see Sith troopers tussling with several Clones. Not to mention the burning forest or the endless sea of Vong troopers in front of the fort. Republic fighters of all kinds were dogfighting the Sith star-fighters for control of the skies. Republic fighters were superior, but the coralskippers were numerous.

"Awh Shiiit!" One Clone exclaimed.

One clone was thrown over the wall, plummeting to his death afterwards.

"We've gotta clear this wall!" another trooper shouted.

Another clone was being strangled to death by a Sith operated Super Battle Droid.

"Clear out the courtyard. Don't let anymore up!" A clone sergeant ordered as he rushed up to help the clone, running the imperial trooper through with his laser bayonet. However, he was too late. The Clone had already choked to death, and blood poured out of the marks that the SBD made in the process.

"Pick your shots, make 'em count!"

The clones crouched down and took cover behind the wall, spraying the Vong-filled courtyard below with blaster fire.

The Blue blaster bolts clashed with the orange lighting from the burning forest.

Imperial troopers fell in droves, but many more took their place.

"Holy Shit, They're EVERYWHERE!"

"Hit those fuel cells down there!"

There were several pre-placed fuel barrels scattered across the courtyard. The clones blasted them, causing brilliant explosions that barbecued anyone standing nearby.

That's when several large imperial tanks, concealed by the trees, which continued to blast away at the walls of the Jedi sanctuary.

"Oh Shit!" One trooper said aloud as one tank-launched projectile flew towards the fort.

"INCOMING!" Another trooper shouted as the projectile slammed into the front of the fort, causing a brilliant explosion that sent flaming debris flying everywhere, killing several clones. The Republic gun emplacements in that spot were silenced.

When the ptojectile impacted the fort, it released a score of Separatist manufactured buzz droids, which shuffled and jumped at the group of Clones. Some clones were covered in droids and cut to death by their buzz saws, whilst screaming in terror. But the little droids were all put down.

Grappling hooks began to be thrown up and hooked onto the wall. Imperial troopers began to climb up.

The clones used their blasters to kill all of the Imperials that managed to make it to the top.

Meanwhile , down in the courtyard, the Sith continued to advance towards the fort, firing up at the clones on top or trying to climb the wall. A pair of jedi, one human male, and his female twi'lek padawan, were swinging their sabers back and forth as Sith acolytes began to surround them.

As long as their Jedi commanders were still n the fight, then so were the clones.

But then, as the Republic continued to hold their ground, several Harrower-class Sith battlecruisers cut through the cloud cover and hovered over the battlefield.

"Oh Frak! Sarge, enemy cruisers. We can't hold 'em off any longer!"

"JUST KEEP FIRING!" The clone sergeant ordered his men.

Heavy laser blasts began to hammer the fort. The Clones began to run out of ammo. But the Empire was far from finished.

Defeat was inevitable.

One of the clones lowered his rifle and looked up at the cruisers. Their weapons began to glow red. Them several red muzzle flashes dotted the fleet, and red plasma bolts began to slam into the ground. The bolts began to walk towards the Jedi sanctuary, until they finally overtook the building itself, blasting stone after stone off of the buildings.

And then suddenly, the trooper's world went dark.

* * *

Later, when the trooper came too, he saw dark figures dancing around each other, sticks of light waving between them. When his vision finally started to clear up, he found that he was on the ground level. Then he saw the Jedi fighting the Sith.

The swordsmen on both sides moved gracefully, blocking and parrying each other in a deadly and beautiful manner.

That's when the Twi'lek padawan, Sienn Ertay, was stabbed from behind, causing a red laser sword to jut out of her abdomen. When the sword was withdrawn, she fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.

Her master, Falon Grey, former apprentice to Master Rahm Kota, didn't fair better, and was soon overrun. The gray skinned, and bald headed Sith warrior that battled him grazed his right leg, causing the Jedi to shout in pain and stagger. He dropped to his knees, and the Sith warrior slashed at his wrist, causing his sword hand to drop to the ground. The Jedi fell onto his back.

But the Sith didn't finish him off like the trooper expected.

Instead, they just stared at each other.

They were speaking to each other. The trooper was able to make out nits of it before they raised their volume.

"There is no pain... only the force."

"Ha!" The Sith warrior laughed. "Another Jedi Lie. You sit there among the dead, after losing an apprentice, and with a severed limb, and yet you claim that there isn't pain?"

The Sith turned to his troopers.

"Spread out. Kill the survivors, including the refugees."

"No!" Master Grey shouted, with tears in his eyes, as the the troopers began to spread out and slaughter everything that crossed their paths. Screaming and blaster discharges could be head off in the distance. "Blasted Sith Scum! You won't get away with this!"

Darth Malgus just looked down at him, with his blade pointed down at the ground.

"The Sith Empire will take every corner of this galaxy, even if it has to stand on a pile of corpses. But don't worry..." Darth Malgus said, before he raised his hand and lifted the wounded Jedi into the air, where he began to choke him with an invisible force. The Jedi began to struggle and hold his neck. But then the Sith used the force with his other hand to make his lightsaber fly straight out of his hand like a spear, and it went straight through the Jedi's heart. "...You won't be around to see your own Order's demise." Malgus said before he dropped the corpse and turned to his men. "As soon as we're finished, we will load up and prepare for departure. Out next target is Alderaan."

His troopers cheered.

"For the Empire!" Malgus called out.

FOR THE EMPIRE!" His men roared back

The Clone trooper reached for his sidearm, and slowly lifted his shaking arm to aim the pistol at the Sith's bald head. But before he could pull the trigger, a blaster bolt came out of no where and caught the trooper in the face.

His strength failed him, and the life force began to leave him before he went limp.

Then there was silence.

And then blackness.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Letter from Ahsoka Tano, to the office of Senator Lux Bonteri_.

 _Hey Lux,_

 _We've just arrived to our destination. And you'll never guess where it is. Alderaan. That's right, the place we were supposed to go too for our vacation. I think that the universe is trying to tell me something. But anyway, we've just landed on the planet, and we're setting up shop right now._

 _The Sith are already in the system. I can see the battle near the moon at night. I can see red and blue flashes. It's really cool._

 _We've got cruisers protecting the entrance to the system, and we've got troops on the ground, ready to react to whatever the Sith throw at us._

 _If the Sith want the Core so bad, then they'll have to go through us first. (It's not happening)._

 _I really wish that you could be here right now, Lux. You should see the view that I'm getting from the royal palace. It's beautiful. But maybe you and I can both see it one day when the war is over, and we can finally be together like a real couple._

 _Anyway, I love you Lux. And I'll see you when we're done kicking the Sith where it really hurts._

 _Your 'Soka._

* * *

 _Royal House of Alderaan_.

When Ahsoka was done writing her letter, she had someone send it to Coruscant to be delivered to Lux's office. After that, she went outside to look up at the sky.

Ahsoka could see Clone troopers down in the streets below, patrolling the checkpoints they've set up throughout the city, and several others on Alderaan.

It was nighttime, as birds and bugs chirped, and the wind slowly whistled by her, gently making her sabers and head-tails swing back and forth from the cool breeze. There wasn't a cloud in sight. Because of this, she was able to see the starry blackness above her. When she looked closer at the half-moon above her, she could see small triangles surrounded by blue and red flashes of light.

As she said in her letter to Lux: she could see Master Allusis and Admiral Yularen giving the Sith invaders some serious trouble.

It was a breath-taking sight.

She saw one a bright white dot overtake one of the triangles, before it died down and turned into a shockwave of orange fire and debris. She could tell that a Sith cruiser was what just exploded.

Her lips curled up into a smile, as the explosion reflected off of her crystalline eyes.

"Go get 'em boys!" She exclaimed under her breath.

"May I join you, Ms. Tano?" Asked a voice behind Ahsoka.

She turned around to see that it was Bail Organa. Prince of Alderaan, and Senator in the Galactic Congress.

"Senator!?" She asked, somewhat taken aback. "Of coarse, your highness," she said with a bow.

Bail walked up to the balcony, standing next to Ahsoka. He was looking up at the sky, at the moon specifically, watching the same blinking dots that she was.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" He asked, trying to make small talk, breaking the awkward silence between the two of them. "Although, I wish that it were under better circumstances."

"Don't worry, Senator. It'll be like that someday... once we're done kicking the Sith out of this galaxy," Ahsoka said.

Bail merely grunted, not seeming very convinced.

Ahsoka went back to turning her head back towards the battle up near the moon.

"So, I spoke to Padme recently," she said, making another attempt to break the ice. "She said that you two were putting together a new bill."

"Yes, actually. The Constitutional Reform Act. The members of the loyalist committee wanted to create a bill that would reaffirm the role of government, by making the constitution more absolute. During the Clone Wars, Palpatine was able to amass a great deal of power during the war, and we wanted to make sure that something like that could never happen again."

Ahsoka nodded with interest.

"Was Dalyell on board with it?" She asked.

"Of coarse. He seems to be interested in anything that will give more power back to individual planets. Although, the War has put such motions as the C.R.A. on hold until it's over. But I fear that this war will never be over. As much as I respect and admire Dalyell, I feel that he won't be able to clear out the corruption that has taken over the Senate, or end this conflict. And because of that, the constitution that my ancestors signed will be forever trampled on."

Ahsoka's response was immediate.

"You can't just give up hope. You and your colleagues have to stand up for what you believe in. If good people can't rise up to preserve our freedoms back home... then, what are me and the boys fighting for? I definitely wasn't fighting so that I could be put on trial for a crime that I didn't commit. You have to help make our sacrifices worth something. You've got to stand up for what you believe no matter what. That's why I came back: to fight for what I know is right. I shouldn't expect anything less from the people we're protecting."

Bail smiled and nodded.

"You make a very compelling case, Ahsoka. Maybe you can be a politician?" He asked.

"Hmpf. There's no need to be insulting," Ahsoka joked.

They both scared a laugh, and they went back to looking up at the flashing lights that danced around Alderaan's moon.

Ahsoka began to ponder about the battle above.

' _I wonder who's winning._ '

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _RSV Indomitable, In orbit around Alderaan's moon_.

Space is full of many beautiful sights to behold.

Some of which include gas giants, constellations, comets, and exploding stars.

But it was also quite dangerous. Your ship could be struck by a shooting star, or you might've plotted the wrong coarse trajectory and end up flying into a star, or even an asteroid field.

The danger in this situation, however, is not one of natural occurrence. Rather, it was one that was man-made.

From the bridge of his flagship, the Venator-Class Star-Destroyer, _RSV Indomitable_ , Admiral Wullf Yularen watched as Republic and Imperial warships hammered away at each other in the contested space above Alderaan's moon.

One side, the Sith Empire, was fighting to rid itself of an entity that has been the bane of its existence for millennia.

The other side, the Galactic Republic, was fighting for its continued existence.

Neither one of them were showing any signs of yielding.

The Republic Naval veteran of several conflicts was leading a fleet of 60 warships against a fleet of 80 Imperial warships. Fortunately for the Republic, they had bigger ships, that were faster and had better shielding. Unfortunately, the Empire had more ships, which were smaller, but had better armor and weapons.

Both sides blasted away at each other from a distance of 225,000 miles.

Blue and Red lasers crossed the threshold to do damage. Debris and fire exploded from ships on either side.

In the space that divided both navies, their fighters were caught in a deadly dance for control of the space above Alderaan's moon.

Another advantage that the Republic fleet had was that their capital ships had much larger fighter compliments. However that's why the Empire usually brought star-fighter carriers and anti-fighter corvettes to the battle in order to compensate for that particular disadvantage.

"Target that Carrier and fire at will!" Yularen ordered.

The Gunnery control stations sat at their stations and relayed those orders down to the four proton torpedo bays and the 8 dual batteries on either side of the bridge superstructure.

A few moments later, the Indomitable fired 4 torpedoes and its 8 main turrets fired. The ends of 16 barrels exploded rapidly, sending dozens of turbo-laser rounds straight towards the Sith warships in question, along with 4 heavy torpedoes.

The Republic Naval ordnance flew towards its Imperial prey. The torpedoes hit the shields and caused 4 large explosions on the hull of the ship. One of the torpedoes actually hit the inside of the lower hanger, which was exposed. It passed through the shield and exploded inside the ships's hull. That particular explosion ripped through the engine room and the hanger, igniting exposed ammunition and flooding unsecured compartments with balls of fire, causing the aft sections to light up in an impressive fireworks display.

The blue laser bolts were actually aimed at the two escorts: Imperial corvettes. These ships were being used as an anti-fighter screen to support the larger Imperial warships.

The dozens of Laser bolts punched into the shields as if they were't even there before they breached the hull of the two frigates. The hulls were torn open, and anything in those areas, loose parts or crew members, were sucked out into the void of space. The engines of the two frigates went offline, causing them to drift randomly through space. The explosions knocked the power out on the Imperial frigates, making them go dark.

It was time for them to abandon ship

The Republic admiral smiled at the brief victory, which was cut short when the sensor operator called out to the bridge.

"Enemy Battle-crusier incoming!"

Yularen and several clone officers looked at the holo-table to see an image of a Harrower-class Imperial battle-cruiser. It was a heavily-armed class of wedge-shaped capital ship that was the backbone of the Imperial Navy throughout it's long history.

Produced by Taerab Starship Manufacturing and measuring around eight hundred meterslong with heavily-reinforced hull plating and shield generators, the _Harrower_ -class dreadnought carried a complement of over one hundred starfighters, bombers, and shuttles; a single dreadnought required a crew of 2,400 and could carry 7,300 troops. It was smaller than a Venator, but it packed a punch.

"Call back the fighter squadrons!"

"We can't sir. They're all occupied at this time. We're on our own," A clone officer said over the comm. He must've been the officer in charge of the star-fighter control bridge.

The admiral irritably scoffed. Then he started to think.

"What about the Hammer of Dawn?" he asked, talking about the most powerful weapon in the Republic Navy's arsenal.

The Hammer of Dawn was a powerful beam weapon developed by the Coalition of Ordered Governments back on Sera, Chancellor Dalyell's homeworld. It design was used to upgrade the SPHA-T weapon already used by the Republic. And Anakin Skywalker had the ingenious idea of mounting such a weapon within the lower hangers of Republic Star Destroyers. It was recently deployed by the Navy to force the CIS to surrender - for the most part.

It was had the power to wipe out cities, and even entire planets, if enough warships were assembled. One task-force led by Admiral Tarkin completely wiped out a CIS planet, Antar, to make an example of the Separatist worlds that didn't give up. Some say that it galvanized the remaining worlds into resisting further.

One fully powered beam could disintegrate a warship. At least 4 beams put together could wipe out a city. The only flaw was that the beam took forever to recharge. A warship was lucky if it could get two shots off in the middle of a battle. They were also expensive to install on a Venator. So any ship that had them was made the flagship and protected at all costs. Of the thousands warships that were active in the Republic Navy, only about 1000 of them were armed with the HoD weapons system.

"It's at 35% percent and slowly rising sir".

"That'll have to do. Target the enemy bridge tower and fire at will". the admiral ordered.

A few moments later, the _Indomitable_ started to rise in order to get a good shot on the Sith Battle-cruiser. The laser beam mounted on the lower hull behind the lower hanger glowed blue.

It powered up and fired. The beam shot out of the _Indomitable's_ lower hull and pierced into the vacuum-less void of space. It connected the Indomitable and the battle-cruiser's small command tower for a few seconds. With the low power of the HoD at that moment, any other place it fired on the ship would've been a waste of energy. That's why they hit the bridge instead. The blue beam pierced through the shields and disintegrated the cruiser's bridge tower, leaving the rest of the ship to drift onward lifelessly.

The crew cheered in victory at the sight of the dying ship and the thought of adding another kill to the veteran ship's lengthly list of kills.

Yularen smiled.

Then he began to think about contacting Master Allusis. He wasn't big fan of the Jedi, thinking that, with a few exceptions like Anakin Skywalker, they weren't very good military leaders. He also didn't trust them for the most part, thinking that they overthrew Palpatine unjustly.

But nonetheless, they were still his superiors, and it was time to report to them.

* * *

 _Master Allusis' Jedi Star-fighter, Alderaan's moon_.

Jedi Master Belth Allusis, the Five-Oh-One's newest General, was flying his Jedi interceptor across the surface of Alderaan's moon.

He was pursuing a pair of Sith star-fighters. The Sith fighter's designs consisted of a short, stubby carriage that housed the cockpit and subsystems, surrounded by a pair of large, outstretched wings that had a laser cannon on each wingtip.

They proved to be quite tenacious, as they zipped above the surface.

On the surface itself, below Allusis, elements of the 501st Legion were moving in to attack the Imperial landing zones on the ground. The Republic believed that the Sith would use this moon to launch their attack on the surface. So Allusis made a bold move by taking the majority of the 501st to attack the moon, and destroy the landing zones.

AT-TE's, speeder bikes, and TX-130 hover tanks, along with several thousand troopers, marched through the makeshift airbases, their structures burning from the constant barrage of Republic artillery.

As the Republic army stomped over the burning remains of the Sith Invasion force, Master Allusis continued to chase the two fighters that he dogfighting.

With the cause on the ground lost, they flew in a straight line in a desperate attempt to return to their fleet. It was a mistake that Belth was able to exploit. He began to track them more easily, and when his targeting computer beeped rapidly, as its crosshairs hovered over the fighters, the Jedi Master pressed a button, and unleashed a hail of blue laser fire, blasting both Sith fighters apart.

When he was done with the fighters, he flew over the cheering Republic troopers on the surface, who've just finished routing the Sith army. He tipped his wing to acknowledge their success.

He then looked up and saw the naval battle going well. The _Indomitable_ fired it's HoD beam weapon at the bridge of an Imperial battle-cruiser. The two ships were connected for a few seconds before the Sith warship was disintegrated.

He then saw three Arquitens-class light cruisers surrounding and hammering away at another Sith battlecruiser. The unshielded ship desperately tried to turn away, firing its cannons as it did. But it was overwhelmed. Several explosions appeared on the hull as the Republic light cruisers continued to fire. Their blaster fire burrowed deeper into the ships, hitting critical systems that caused several more explosions to rip through the hull, before the ship went supernova.

Allusis smiled.

The Republic was winning.

That's when his droid started beeping.

"A transmission from Yularen?" He asked. The droid beeped a reply. "Patch it through".

The droid beeped a comply, and seconds later the holographic image of Admiral Yularen materialized right in front of Allusis.

" _General Allusis, the Sith fleet has taken heavy casualties. They're turning away._ " The Admiral said.

A sense of relief washed over the Jedi master like a fresh breeze.

"Excellent work, Admiral. Send out fighter squadrons to mop up what's left behind and prepare to send a message to-" Belth said before an alarm started to go off inside of his cockpit.

It was his scanners. They were reporting several large groups of warships coming in from two directions.

A clone officer that was out of Allusis' view called out from a different part of the Indomitable's bridge.

 _"Admiral, we have enemy reinforcements coming in from points .35 and .24"_.

The feeling of relief coming from Allusis was immediately replaced by one of shock, as several dozen ships came out of hyperspace. The Enemy fleet was split into two groups. One was heading straight for the moon where the majority of the Republic's forces in-system were located. The other group was heading straight for Alderaan, right passed Yularen's fleet.

As clones began to chatter frantically over the different comm-channels, Yularen tried to speak to Allusis. " _Where in the Nine Corellian Hells did they come from?!_ " He cursed.

 _"It was a diversionary attack. They were trying to draw us away to leave Alderaan exposed. Now they're about to attack it._ " Captain Autem said over the comm chatter from the RSV Sovereign.

" _Sirs, I've been trying to raise Torrent Company, but it looks like all Republic frequencies across the system are being jammed. Should we turn back and try to help Alderaan?"_ A clone officer asked.

"There's nothing that we can do now. If we try to go back an help, we'll just leave our ground forces on the moon exposed with no naval cover. And then we'd be chewed up by both Sith fleets at once. But if we deal with one battlegroup, while the other attacks Alderaan, we can destroy one group before focusing on the other, and with our comms down, I suspect that our reinforcements will be on their way soon. Ahsoka and the others will just have to find a way to hold off the Sith forces until we can free up some support."

The officers silently acknowledged, before they went on to continue the battle, and engage the Sith forces that were gathering above the moon.

"General, the Empire is pressing forward". Yularen informed.

"Regroup the Fleet and the fighter squadrons".

On Allusis' orders, the Fleet formed up around the Indomitable. They faced do the approaching Imperial fleet.

Beth decided to send a message to the fleet and the ground forces on the moon.

"Warriors of the Republic. This is General Allusis. You all know by now what is at stake. If we fail, then future generations will be forced to live through an evil that I cannot begin to describe, and one that has not been experienced in nearly a thousand years. We cannot allow that to happen. Your orders are to hold your ground at all costs. The Sith's onslaught stops here. Pick your targets and take out as many of them as you can. Allusis out".

* * *

Across the fleet, everyone returned to their stations.

The Admiral looked out the window as the Imperial fleet continued its approach.

He pointed his gloved hands at the Empire.

"All ships, Fire at Will".

* * *

The Republic Fleet fired everything they had as their fighters, led by Master Allusis, continued to swarm around the Imperial fleet. Both sides were evenly matched for now. But they continued their deadly brawl nonetheless.

The life and death struggle for the Alderaan system, and the rest of the galaxy, continued.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Royal House of Alderaan_.

Back at the royal palace, Ahsoka and Bail watched in horror as Sith warships, that they couldn't see yet, unleashed a hail of red laser fire that rained down from the atmosphere, and slammed into the surrounding landscape, creating a wall of fire that choked the air with smoke.

Infrastructure was eventually targeted as well, including the spaceports.

This devastating display was meant to instill fear in the hearts of all who bore witness to the Sith destructive power.

Ahsoka and Bail watched in stricken horror.

When the screams of people all across the city could be heard, as well as the engines of Imperial warships as they broke through the atosphere to deploy legions of Sith to the surface, Ahsoka finally broke the silence with a soft exclamation from her terror stricken face.

"Oh no!"

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Alderaan system, a day later_.

On an elevated cliff overlooking a forested area outside of Alderaan's capital, a unit of Clone troopers from Torrent Company of the 501st Legion were arming themselves for battle. A series of clicks and beeps came from power packs being slid into their weapons, powering them up for the fight that lied ahead.

As an ARC trooper captain, named Rex, slid his dual sidearms into his holsters, he looked out over the once peaceful landscape of Alderaan, thinking of the peaceful history of this planet, and what it had meant to the Galactic Republic.

' _Enough is enough. The Republic is the galaxy's only hope for peace and justice. It must not fall.'_

Elsewhere on the planet, Sith star-fighters screeched across the skies above Alderaan, dropping their deadly ordnance on the landscape below. Behind them, dark, menacing triangle-shaped warships hovered above a valley, where row upon row of tightly packed formations of black-armored troopers awaited the order to march on the cities of Alderaan.

 _'The Sith Empire exterminates everything in its path.'_

Elsewhere, a regiment of Sith troopers, led by Darth magus and several other Sith warriors, marched through a forest, with a burning city behind them.

 _'The enemy has no remorse for the worlds it destroys.'_ Rex continued to think, as his men continued to prepare for battle. They were all that stood between the capital of Alderaan and the endless destruction caused by the Sith Empire.

 _'Everything we value will die unless we hold the line. This war isn't about politics or resources. We are fighting for our survival, and for the freedom of the galaxy.'_

When Rex was down thinking, he picked up a portable missile launcher, and walked to the edge of the cliff, hiding behind a tree, in front of his men. He peeked around the tree and looked down. He could see a column of Sith troopers, warriors, and battle droids marching through a gorge towards Alderaan's capital.

He lugged the portable missile launcher, walked out from behind the tree, and took aim at the column of Sith forces.

"For The Republic!" He shouted before firing three successive rocket-propelled grenades, each one wiping out a cluster of Sith troopers and droids.

The Sith looked up to see where the small missile pods came from, just in time to see a horde blue and white armored clone troopers shouting a powerful battle cry that made their teeth chatter, and the ground rumble beneath their feet.

The clones all jumped down from the cliff and landed in the gorge. When they hit the ground, they charged into the trees, firing everything that they had at the Sith troopers. Sith troopers were speared through the chest with blue plasma bolts, while battle droids were blown apart from the sheer amount of firepower coming at them.

The forward echelons of the Sith column were routed and overrun almost immediately. These weren't just planetary security forces that they were so used to fighting. These weren't even ordinary clones.

These were the elite troopers of the 501st Legion.

The most highly decorated, distinguished, and recognizable unit in the Grand Army of the Republic.

Rex and his men continued to charge into the trees that were at the bottom of the gorge, continuing to fight their ay through row upon row of Sith troopers and their black painted battle droids.

Several troopers dove into cover behind a fallen tree. One of the trooper's primed and tossed a thermal detonator in the middle of a somersault. The grenade hit a black painted droideka just as it finished unfolded. Before it could activate its shield, the grenade exploded, wiping out the droid and several surrounding Sith troopers.

A group of Sith acolytes rushed in at the head of another wave of troopers and droids. They activated their sabers and attempted to break through the Republic lines. But this counterattack was immediately blunted by the clones, who stood their ground and fought like animals.

The Sith tried to use their sabers on the clones, but as soon as their blades made contact with their armor, they didn't leave a mark. This was due to Torrent Company, and several other clone units, having their armor coated with a thin layer of Cortosis, thanks to a mission that Anakin Skywalker took to the planet Mokivj, where he helped capture a Cortosis mine being used by the CIS.

Even in death, he was still looking out for his men.

The clones got into the faces of the Sith warriors and the melee ensued.

One clone flipped a charging Sith warrior over his shoulder, turned around, and swiftly placed several blaster bolts into the grounded Sith warrior. Several others began to clock other warriors in the face with their rifle stocks.

Elsewhere, Rex continued to direct his men through the battle.

"Lets go, move it up!" He called out.

More clones continued to charge through the forest.

A pair of heavy troopers, both armed with Z-6 rotary cannons and wearing ARC trooper garb, rushed up and stopped. They aimed their weapons and fired them, sending a deadly volley of blaster fire into a squad of Sith troopers. Some of them were killed, while the rest took cover behind tree trunks that were being ripped apart by laser bolts.

Rex then aimed his launcher at the same group a Sith, firing his explosive rounds, and vaporizing all of them.

That's when a platoon of droidekas, all shielded, and several dozen Sith troopers started moving towards the Republic lines. They fired, felling multiple clone troopers from concentrated fire.

Rex gestured towards some of his men with a hand signal to move to the right.

"Flank them!"

He aimed his launcher at the led droideka and fired. The droid exploded, its shield doing moving to stop the missile.

Elsewhere, Rex's men began to flank the Sith as ordered, and began hitting them from the sides. The Sith forces were now caught between three groups of clones, all pouring heavy amounts of fire on them.

Droids exploded.

Sith troopers fell.

Acolytes tried to deflect the blaster fire, but were eventually overrun.

The battle seemed to be going well. That's when a heavy trooper that was standing next to Rex was pulled by an invisible force, and went flying. Rex turned when he heard him screaming, and was able to catch a glimpse of a red sword jutting out of the trooper's unarmored neck. The trooper was tossed aside, and Rex could see Darth Malgus.

The Supreme Commander of the Sith Imperial Forces.

Rex bared his teeth and pointed at the Sith Lord.

"Concentrate Fire on that gray-skinned Son-uva-bitch!"

He fired his missile cannon at Malgus, sending several missile pods his way. Several clones joined in, firing their blasters at the leader of their enemy.

Darth Malgus raised his blade to deflect the oncoming blaster bolts. Then he raised his hand and used the force to send the missiles that Rex fired in several directions. The redirected missiles bounced in several spots around him, killing several of his comrades. But one missile landed too close to him. He was overtaken by a ball of fire. When it was cleared, he had a scar that was covered in a black scuff mark on his left cheek. He faced his Cloned adversaries and spat out some dust that got into his mouth.

His orange eyes glowed with anger and hatred.

Rex broke ranks and charged straight at Malgus. He bashed two Sith troopers out of the way. One Sith acolyte got in front of Rex and raised his blade, ready to end him. But before he could drop the blade, a blaster bolt came from out of nowhere, fired by one of several clone sniper teams in the area, and speared the Sith in the face, knocking him back.

Rex pushed the falling body out of his way, dropped his launcher, and began to fire his dual sidearms at the Sith.

Darth Malgus merely deflected the rounds, which landed harmlessly into the ground and the trees behind Rex.

He then raised his hand. Blue lightning shot out of his fingertips and overtook Rex, who dropped both of his sidearms. His muscles locked up and he couldn't move. He began to scream in agony from the unbearable pain that overtook him.

But despite the excruciating pain, he reached for his knife and tried to step toward Malgus. But the dark lord merely threw the veteran clone captain away the flick of his wrist, and then Rex flew headfirst into a tree.

And then darkness began to take over his vision.

* * *

An unknown amount of time later, Rex began to blink. He didn't know where he was or how long he'd been out, but the world began to clear up around him. He could here screaming, blaster fire, and explosions.

His vision was blurry, but as he started blinking, it all became clear, and he could see what was happening. Two Sith troopers were carrying him. He tried to struggle, but another trooper that was behind him hit him with his rifle stock.

More pain began to surge through him, and he stopped moving as his head began to throb. But he kept looking around. The tide of battle had taken a serious turn for the worst.

His men continued to fight, but they were being pushed back.

Some of the wounded clones that were left behind were being executed by the Sith troopers.

It made his blood boil.

He looked up ahead and saw Malgus driving his sword down into another injured trooper. Malgus looked to his left, smiling when he made eye contact with Rex. He then pulled his sword out of the now dead trooper and began to walk over to Rex.

Rex began to struggle again, but his captors had a tight grip on him.

When he looked up again, he saw his executioner standing above him with his lightsaber ready. But instead of closing his eyes, Rex looked Malgus in the eye. If he was going to die, then he was going to die like a man.

But before the blow could ever come from the smiling Sith Lord, a Togrutan jumped out of seemingly nowhere, behind Rex and his would be executors.

As she landed in a crouching position, she punched the ground. With the force, her fist created shockwave that went in every direction. That attack struck their targets, Malgus and his men. They all went flying in different directions.

When Malgus landed, he got back up, and with a look of pure anger, and turned to see who would dare to strike him.

What he saw amused him.

It was the former apprentice of Anakin Skywalker.

Ahsoka slowly stood up from her kneeling position. As she stood up, she grabbed her two lightsabers. She crossed them in front of her face, and activated them. The green and yellow blades both pointed away from her in an 'X' shape. Then she spun her blades around and un crossed her blades, so that she was holding them in the Jar'kai form.

As she assumed this battle stance, she stared Malgus down, challenging him in a nonverbal manner.

But before he could, she was already sprinting towards him across the battlefield.

Behind her, Rex got back up, and was relieved to see that his men were rejoining the fight. He saw Jesse, Hardcase, Kix, Echo, Dogma, and Tup all rushing through the forests. One of them tossed Rex his helmet and a fresh DC-15 blaster, which he accepted, and they went back to work fighting the Sith.

Meanwhile, Ahsoka continued to charge through the gorge. She used one of her hands, the one carrying the shoto, to give herself a boost as she vaulted over a large rock. Then she came face to face with several Sith troopers and their reprogrammed battle droids.

She jumped into the air and spun around. As she spun, she delivered a mean kick to a Sith trooper that was too slow to react to her movements. As she finished delivering the kick, she swung both of her blades through the head of a droideka, which couldn't finish unfolding. When she landed, she somersaulted underneath another Sith trooper, swiping her blades through his legs. After somersaulting, she extended both blades outward and charged through two Sith troopers that were on either side of her, slashing her blades across their armored torsos.

Across jumping, flipping and slashing her way passed the carnage, she finally managed to reach her target: Darth Malgus.

Ahsoka immediately began her attack, using quick strikes to throw Malgus off, and even managing to push him back, all while Clones and Sith troopers continued to fight a chaotic battle for control of the gorge.

Magus deflected her blows, but felt that this was taking too long. As he deflected with one hand, he used the other to launch a force push that halted her attack dead in its tracks. Then he delivered a swift kick to her abdomen, sending her back this time. This gave him an enticing opportunity to strike back, which he took without hesitation.

He began to swing his blade wildly, his heavier stature putting more power behind each strike, forcing Ahsoka to struggle to defend herself. She began to withdraw again, while swiftly meeting his strikes with her own parries.

As she crouched, trying to get underneath his defenses, she crossed her blades in front of her in an X-shape, hoping to swipe at his legs. But before she could, he brought his blade down, catching her in a saber lock. But it was no stalemate. Malgus began to use his weight and power to try and push Ahsoka's blades down into her face. With all of her strength, she resisted.

But any second now, it was going to prove futile. She needed another way.

She quickly scanned her surroundings. That's when she spotted a large tree that was to her right. Acting quickly, and while using her shoto to continue blocking Malgus, she used the force to throw her main saber at the tree. Spinning like a propellor, it slashed across the front of the tree, cutting almost clean through. It began to topple over right on top of the two combatants.

Malgus noticed this. Abandoning the saber lock, he jumped backwards away from Ahsoka, who did the same thing away from him, just as the tree slammed down on top of the spot they just occupied seconds ago.

Ahsoka's blade came flying back to her like a boomerang, and went straight into her hand. She then jumped on top of the tree with Malgus, and their battle continued. She jumped around him and struck at his backside, forcing him to constantly turn around to defend himself. When she grazed his armored shoulder plate, he growled in pain as the metal melted to his skin.

Having quite enough of the young Togrutan jumping around him, he gathered a great deal of energy within himself and then released it in a sudden outward burst. This technique was known as 'force repulse'. He delivered a shockwave that sent everything around him flying in several different directions, including Ahsoka, who was thrown into a tree.

She slumped over and her vision blurred. Ahsoka shook her head and blinked rapidly to refocus her vision. That's when she saw Malgus leaping through the air towards her. His blade was pointed down at her.

Thinking quickly, she sprung back up and force jumped over Malgus just as he thrust his blade deep into the tree trunk.

He looked up and saw Ahsoka flipping behind him. But before she could land on the ground and have the chance to slash at his exposed back, Malgus swiftly turned around and swung his blade back at her as she landed. She raised her blades to defend herself, but it didn't help.

As Malgus swung his blade, he channeled a large amount of force energy into his hands, creating a force push in his lightsaber swing that knocked Ahsoka's lightsaber out of her hands when they made contact with them.

With no lightsaber to defend herself, Ahsoka raised her hands to try and keep the sword at bay. The tip of her sword was pressed against her gloves, which had elements of Cortosis in them. Not enough to deactivate Malgus' sword, but just enough to block it. But Malgus pushed harder. Ahsoka was driven to her knees, and lightsaber spark began to sting her face. Malgus bared his teeth in frustration, wanting his saber to go right through the young Togrutan's hands and thrust into her face.

He knew that she was the apprentice of Anakin Skywalker. He also knew that Skywalker was in fact Darth Vader. He desperately wanted to destroy a piece of his rival.

The way things were going, he was about to get his wish, as Ahsoka struggled to keep the blade away. But it was only a matter of time before the force, and her cortosis weaved gloves, failed her.

But before Malgus could be satisfied with her death, he heard someone shouting. He looked to his right and saw Captain Rex charging at him. Before he could raise his blade or use the force, Malgus was body slammed by Rex, who pushed him about ten feet away. He then brought his head up into Malgus' chin, throwing his head back, and they were face to face. Malgus grabbed Rex's wrists, and began to summon force lightning in order to finish off the pesky clone captain off for good.

But before the lightning could travel up his arms and through his hands, Rex opened up on of his fists to reveal on object. Magus looked over, and saw that it was a concussion grenade. Before he could react, Rex pressed the button, and the grenade detonated. The blast sent both combatants flying in opposite directions.

Rex tumbled across the ground, and grunted with each impact, before he finally stopped, and fell unconscious, while face down in the dirt.

Malgus was on his knees. More scars were on his face. Smoke began to pour off of the large gash that was on his torso from the detonation. He got back up, but he looked like he was going to fall over.

He then looked up to see that Ahsoka was back in the fight, surrounded by several clone troopers.

The battle was over.

All that was left of his forces were the bodies that were scattered across the ground.

Before Malgus could do anything - fight, run, surrender - Ahsoka drew her hands back and summoned as much force energy as she could, and then released it in the largest force push that she could possibly summon.

That force push threw Malgus into a cliffside wall. He was pressed up against it. He tried to struggle against the wall of energy pushing him against the wall of rock. He groaned and growled, trying to get out. Large pebbles began to tumble off of the wall from the severe pressure being applied.

But it seemed to be working. The more energy Ahsoka tried to apply, the harder he fought to get out.

She began to falter, not being powerful enough to keep it up.

Realizing this, the clones that surrounded her primed their grenades and threw them into Ahsoka's force push, making them fly towards Malgus. He shouted in anger when he saw them coming, and was powerless to do anything before the grenades exploded on impact, overwhelming him with fire and burying him in a rockslide that was caused by the explosion.

Rocks flew everywhere.

When the dust settled, nothing seemed to be moving.

That's when Ahsoka let her hands drop to her sides. And then, out of the blue, she became dizzy, and her vision began to go blurry. She dropped to her knees and lost consciousness. And before she could hit the floor, a couple clones managed to catch her before she fell to the ground.

The other remaining clones scanned their sectors with their rifles. When everything was clear, the few Republic troopers that were left standing in the gorge began to regroup.

Rex woke up and saw that the survivors from the battle had regrouped. He saw, with concern, Ahsoka being carried by his men. Fires continued to crackle in different parts of the gorge.

The loudness and chaos of battle was now replaced with a calm and quiet that was unprecedented in wartime. Bodies from both sides, mostly Sith, lay everywhere.

When everyone was gathered up, he began to think to himself.

 _"While the sacrifices of our brothers are heavy, we fight knowing that a single spark of courage can ignite the fires of hope, and restore freedom across the galaxy._ "

To prove his point, when a trooper fired a flare gun up into the air, it was immediately answered by other survivors far off in the distance. More and more red flares were shot up into the air. It was as if everyone was calling out at the same time: 'We have survived, and we have won'.

High up in orbit, as the Republic Navy moved to retake the system from what was left of the now disorganized Sith Armada, crew members from approaching warships could see that the planet had survived the seemingly endless Sith onslaught.

The image of the peaceful planet covered in red signal flares would serve as a beacon of hope.

One that would serve as the spark that would ignite the courage, and the quiet, unyielding anger within the spirt of every true Republic patriot, and bring abut the destruction of the remnants of the Sith Empire.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **UHHHH! Finally. After about three weeks of rewrites and some form of writer's block, I've finally finished this** **chapter.**

 **Anyway, that was part 33 folks.**

 **Hope you enjoyed.**

 **The battle of Alderaan was, of coarse, taken from the beloved 'Hope' cinematic trailer from what I hear is a widely disliked Star Wars game.**

 **I'll be working on part 34 as soon as I can.**

 **Until next time as always, this is Grubkiller, over and out.**


	34. Chapter 34-Routine Valor

**Have no fear, Grubkiller is here.**

 **Hey folks.**

 **Here's part 34 of my story, Fall of the Republic. Last chapter _(Go check it out)_ the Sith onslaught was halted and thrown back. Now, the Republic is on the offensive. But dark forces, and low morale, threaten to undermine the Republic war effort.**

 **Anyway, please enjoy.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Council Chamber, Jedi Temple_.

Grand Master Yoda of the Jedi council was sitting in his chair in the council chamber.

Around him, were holograms of Chancellor Dalyell and some of his military advisors and cabinet members.

A few members of the Jedi council were present for the meeting. Almost all of the masters were there, except for Plo Koon, Stass Allie, and Ki-Adi-Mundi, who were out in the outer rim, attending the meeting via hologram.

Admiral Tarkin's hologram was in the room as well.

They were all watching as a holographic version of General Salaman stood in front of a holographic map of the Galaxy. There were several patches in the outer rim, colored orange, that represented territory owned by the Separatist holdouts, and Hutt space was green.

A few dark red spot were scattered across the northern Outer Rim. They were Sith territories and possessions. Which included military bases, ancient Sith Temples, and even major industrial centers that were loyal to them.

The dark red dots that represented Sith possessions were quickly disappearing, as they began to pull out of the region, and back to a planet in the unknown regions, discovered by Republic Intelligence to be Dromund Kaas, the capital of the exiled Sith Empire. The planets in the core, and northward of that, that were blinking blue and red were planets that were prone to revolution. The royal blue dots were major Republic military industrial centers.

"Go ahead General," Dalyell said.

Salaman nodded and held his pointer stick to the map.

" _Ladies and Gentlemen, forces belonging to the Sith Imperium are centered around the Tion Cluster. We've been doing everything that we can to strike this area, but we have too few ships in the region, and they are receiving help from the Separatist strongholds in the outer rim. They're getting resources, amnesty, military access, anything that will help them against us... even if it is just for a short time. Their home territory is somewhere in the unknown regions. I think that if we can put pressure on the Separatists, then we will cut off the Sith Empire's ability to wage war on us, and mount a proper retreat in the unknown,"_ Salaman said.

Everyone looked at each other and nodded.

" _And the best part is that we have the ability to do that. With our fleet mobilized, and our forces in the outer rim being reinforced, then we'll be able to isolate the remaining Separatist holdouts, and then we should force the Sith Empire to capitulate within two weeks._ " Salaman said. " _But if we're going to ensure total victory over them, then we need to do it hard and fast. And we need to go in right now"._

"Then that means the decision is yours, Chancellor," Master Windu said.

When Mace said that, everyone turned to Dalyell, who has his hands clasped together as he leaned his elbows on the table, deep in contemplation.

After a few minutes, the Chancellor looked up.

The suspense was murderous before he finally spoke.

" _We're going in,_ " he said before turning to Masters Yoda and Windu. " _As always, I'll leave the war effort to you, Master Jedi_ ".

"Thank you, Chancellor," Mace said.

Dalyell bowed his head, and seconds later his hologram fizzled out and disappeared.

The other holograms disappeared.

But Tarkin was the last hologram to disappear, and Obi-Wan noticed that there was something off in his presentation. But he decided to ignore it, especially when the hologram of Ki-Adi-Mundi began to speak.

 _"We have surveyed all systems in the Republic, and have found no sign of Darth Sidious,_ " he said from his location in the Outer Rim.

"Hiding in the Core regions, Sidious must be. Continue blockading and sweeping the Core we will, until located he is," Yoda said.

"It may take some time . . . we do not have many ships to spare," Obi-Wan said.

"We cannot take ships from the front line," Mace said.

"And yet, it would be fatal for us to allow the Sith Empire to regroup," Obi-Wan said.

 _"What about the enemy attack on the Wookies, and the Mon Calamari?_ " Ki-Adi Asked.

Ever since the Sith Armada started blazing a trail to the Core, that ended abruptly on Alderaan thanks to the efforts of the 501st, the Sith and their allies have been trying the reclaim their old territories. The Separatists leadership, with their vast and hidden droid factories and shipyards, seized Raxus and some of the surrounding worlds, and took over isolated patches of territory with what was left of the Confederate Navy. Through that territory, the Sith were able to launch attacks on Republic forces all across the northern outer rim. The Separatists were making another play for Kashyyyk, and they also wanted Mon Calamari for its famous shipyards, cutting it off from the rest of Republic space. The Sith were now using this conquered ground to hold off the Republic in a rear guard action, while the majority of the forces fled to Dromund Kaas.

"It is critical we send an attack group to those regions, immediately!" Mace acknowledged.

"He's right, we cannot afford to lose those sectors. The Separatists would control the main navigation routes into the Mid Rim, where they could continue to mount a guerrilla war within our territory. Not to mention the Sith using them to escape.

"And we can't let them take the resources that the Mon Calamari possess for them to use them against us. I know that region well. I volunteer to lead the operation on Mon Calamari," Kit Fisto said.

"And go again, I will, to Kashyyyk," Yoda said.

"Now, what about Dromund Kaas?" Master Shaak Ti asked.

"Act on this, we must. The capture of Dromund Kaas, and the destruction of the Sith Imperium, will end this war. Quickly and decisively we should proceed." Yoda said.

"Does everyone agree?" Obi-Wan asked.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Then w _ho is to lead the operation on Dromund Kaas_?" Plo Koon's hologram asked, who was routing the remaining pockets of Sith and Separatist forces in the core/colonies regions.

"A Master is needed, with more experience fighting the Sith," Yoda said.

"Given our resources, I recommend we send only one Jedi . . . Master Kenobi," Windu said.

Obi-Wan was the most experienced with fighting the Sith. In his time as a Jedi, he dueled Darth Maul, Savage Oppress, Asajj Ventress, Count Dooku, and even Dark Jedi such as ... Anakin. Obi-Wan squints his eyes as he thought of the disturbing image of Anakin, red lightsaber in hand and yellow eyes flashing with burning hatred

"Are you sure only sending one Jedi master is sufficient?" Kenobi asked.

Everyone looked at him.

"Obi-Wan, you're the one with the most experience fighting the Sith, and based on our reports from Alderaan, the Sith of old aren't anywhere near as powerful as the new Rule of Two practitioners." Mace said.

He was right. Ahsoka and a company of clones were able to stop an entire regiment outside of Alderaan's capital. They even killed several Sith warriors, including Darth Malgus, the supreme leader of the Imperial forces.

Obi-Wan nodded in reassurance.

"Obi-Wan, my choice is," Yoda said.

"I concur. Master Kenobi should go," Ki-adi said.

All of the other Jedi masters concur by saying 'aye'.

"It is settled then," Mace said before he began turning to all of the masters in the room. "Yoda will take a unit of clones to reinforce the Wookiees on Kashyyyk, while Master Fisto takes his forces to Mon Cala, and Obi-Wan ... will take two clone brigades to ensure the total defeat of all Sith forces on Dromund Kaas. May the Force be with us all".

And with that, the council meeting was adjourned.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _RSV Vigilance, Coruscant_.

Obi-Wan stood on the bridge of the _Vigilance_ , watching as different clones started running back and forth between their stations. As the ships began to take off, and head for orbit, as his friends were all heading off to war, and as his fleet prepared to go out and wipe out what was left of the Sith Empire, he was in deep thought.

' _I doubt that even Master Qui-Gon what have prepared for this'_.

As he finished that thought, the stars outside the viewport began to elongate, before they shot off into the blue and white dimensional tunnel of hyperspace.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Imperial fleet. In orbit above_ _Kalakar 6, Dromund system_.

" _Admiral, the Republic is advancing through the outer rim as we speak. The Separatists won't be able to hold them off for long. You must hold this planet, our cradle, at all costs. And I want that weapon ready to fire. Destroy the Jedi now!_ " Ordered the holographic version of Darth Wyyrlok, the Chagrian Sith lord who took over as Supreme Commander of the Sith armies in the wake of Darth Malgus' disappearance.

An Imperial admiral, a male human who had a cybernetic eye and a mechanical hand, was standing before the hologram on the bridge of his flagship.

"It will be done my lord," the Admiral said with a bow.

Just after Wyyrlok's hologram disappeared, an alarm went off.

"Admiral. We have multiple contacts coming out of hyperspace," someone called out.

The admiral was taken aback. Most of what remained of the Sith Empire was already stationed here. The next wave of survivors weren't expected for another planetary rotation. That meant that the Republic invasion was already upon them.

"Battle stations!" The Admiral ordered.

Everyone rushed to their stations.

The admiral took this opportunity to look out the viewport.

That's when he saw several dozens warships shoot out of hyperspace, literally right in front of him. They were gray star-destroyers with red stripes.

It was the Republic fleet. The Open Circle Armada.

He was outnumbered 3-1.

"Oh Stang," the admiral said under his breath before blue muzzle flashes dotted the Republic fleet, and the bridge exploded around him, before he was sucked out into the crushing black void of space.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Throne Room, Imperial Citadel, Byss_.

Darth Sidious and a hologram of Darth Vader looked at the hologram of Darth Wyyrlok, which stood before them in the middle of the throne room. His hologram was buzzing in and out. The signal was patchy due to the Republic presence in the region overwhelming the comms.

" _My lord, the Republic fleet is upon us. If help doesn't arrive soon, then the Sith Empire will be wiped out,_ " Wyyrlok said.

 _"_ I assure you, my friend, our plans are going into motion as we speak. Once they succeed, you will emerge from the ruins a more powerful empire. Now, until then, tell your warriors to hold their ground. Tell them that they are fighting for their birthright. That if they hold on just a little longer, then the galaxy will be their's for the taking,"Sidious said, trying to inspire the Chagrian Sith lord.

It worked.

Wyyrlok nodded his head and his hologram disappeared.

When he was sure that the transmission was terminated, Sidious spoke.

"Idiot".

He then turned to Vader.

"Remember Lord Vader, the first and only reality of the Sith: there can only be two. The Master and the Apprentice. You are my apprentice, and we will lead this galaxy to peace and prosperity. They are rivals that would bring everything we've worked towards crashing down."

" _I understand,_ " Darth Vader said.

"Now prepare to depart for Coruscant any day now. I will join you soon."

Vader bowed, and his hologram disappeared.

Sidious smiled.

 _'It won't be long now'._

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Republic Gunships carrying men from the 212th Attack Battalion, en route to the surface of Kalakar 6, Dromund Kalakar's moon, Dromund System_.

Over the volcanic and rocky landscape of Dromund Kalakar's moon, dozens of Republic fighters and gunships, along with several assault ships, were heading for the surface under heavy fire. The Sith Army was holding a large promontory, which towered over their defenses and allowed observers to call in artillery strikes on the incoming Republic forces. Due to the battle up in orbit tying down resources, there was a lack of air cover for the Sith. But they had firepower on their side, and used it effectively, forcing the larger Republic transports to hang back.

Republic ground units were off in the distance, taking shots at the Sith defenders.

In one of the lead Republic gunships flying over the battlefield, a bearded man was hanging on to the hand rails, whilst directing his forces through a com-link.

" _Remember, our objective is to shatter their lines...break them up...then take out any remaining pockets of resistance, one by one. And whatever you do...avoid the mountaintop gun anchoring their southern flank. A ground assault on that position is too dangerous. I repeat, leave the mountain guns to our air support_ ," said Obi-Wan.

In another gunship nearby, Clone Marshal Commander Cody was with 'A'-squad. They were going to be dealing with Sith forces elsewhere, like Obi-Wan.

" _This isn't going to be an easy mission Cody. But if we stick to the plan, we'll get through this,_ " he said.

"Copy that General. See you when this is finished," Cody said, before Obi-Wan's gunship broke off with a few others.

"Commander Cody..." One of his men aid behind him. Cody turned around to look at his men, who were getting their weapons ready for action. He saw that Lt. Waxer was speaking to him. "...Thirty seconds to LZ sir!" Waxer yelled out over to humming sound of the gunship's engines.

"All right listen up!" Cody ordered, prompting his men to pay close attention. "I want you all to maintain squad formation, but I want plenty of space between men. Boil, when we get on the ground, I need you to-" Cody said, when the pilot's voice came over the comm.

 _"Heavy flak incoming! Brace yourselves,_ " the pilot interrupted.

More and more puffs of red and black smoke appeared all around their ships, causing it to shake violently.

One laser bolt hit the gunship's port side.

"STANG!" Boil exclaimed.

They were hit right were the left ball turret was. The glass ball fell, with the gunner trapped inside, and plummeting to the ground.

The gunship began to trail smoke as it began to lose altitude.

" _We're going down. Brace yourselves!"_ The pilot exclaimed.

Everyone held the hand rails more tightly.

The ground got closer and closer.

That's when the ship hit the ground violently. It scraped across the surface. Everyone inside had to struggle to hang on, but a couple troopers were thrown forward like rag dolls.

The remaining ball turret snapped off from the force of the impact, causing it to fly forward and skip across the ground. The trooper inside, however, wasn't as intact as the ball.

Eventually, the ship came to a steady halt on its side, a cloud trail of dust behind it.

For a moment, there was silence. But then the hatch slid open, thanks to a couple troopers opening it manually from the inside. The surviving clones spilled out of the crew bay. Some stumbled. One trooper ripped his helmet off to vomit into the rocks beneath him.

Cody and Waxer stumbled out as well.

"Achk! Waxer, what's our status?" Cody asked in a strained voice.

"Sir, the bird's waisted, the crew's dead, two of our troopers are dead, and two more are injured. But the rest of us are okay. But that's not the worst part," the clone lieutenant said.

"Oh perfect," Boil said sarcastically.

"Sir...We're right by the promontory," Waxer said.

Cody looked over the gunship to sneak a peak of the towering rock formation, from which the Sith forces were hammering Republic forces in the distance.

"Right where we're not supposed to be," Cody said.

"Sir. General Kenobi said that an assault on that rock would be impossible," Waxer reminded.

"True. But what would he do if he were in this position right now?" Cody asked him as he stared at the large rock formation.

Waxer turned back to look at the others, who were looking back at him.

"Troopers... prepare to attack".

* * *

A few minutes later, the troopers had armed themselves with the weapons and ammo that made it in the crash.

The wounded were moved under cover.

They lined up against the Gunship's belly, with Cody in the lead.

"Alright, CT's 8867 through 8869, affix grappling hooks and follow me. The rest of you stay here and get ready to lay down covering fire," Cody ordered.

Waxer, Boil, and several other clones readied their rifles. Cody and his three troopers prepared to move, placing hooks in their rifle barrels with cables attached to them. They were completely silent and still.

"NOW!" Cody ordered before he and his troopers exploded from cover, sprinting as fast as they could towards the base of the rock formation.

At the very millisecond that Cody and his men charged, Lt. Waxer and the rest of 'A' squad jumped up, slammed their rifles over cover and unleashed a storm of Blue blaster bolts at the Sith troopers on the ridge-line, overlooking the battlefield.

Several Sith troopers and even more B1 battle droids fell before they realized what was happening.

"Clones! Blast them!"

They turned their attention towards the troopers at the crashed gunship. Red laser bolts flew towards the gunship, blasting holes into it and leaving scorch marks on the hull.

But enough troopers turned their attention to Cody's men to cause them trouble. Laser bolts landed all around them, kicking up dust and scorching the ground.

One of Cody's troopers, CT-8868, was hit by a hail of blaster bolts. He hit the ground dead. But before they could concentrate on Cody and his two remaining men, they disappeared behind the south end of the promontory.

"Ohhh, Frak that was close!" One of the troopers, CT-8869, exclaimed.

"Tell me something I don't know," CT-8867 said.

"Cut the chatter and prep your ascension cables," Cody ordered.

They aimed up at the top of the rock formation. Then they fired, and the hooks shot up the rock formation and disappeared over the edge. Long cables hung from each hook. With a way up to the top of the promontory, the clones held down a button on their DC-15a rifles, reeling in the cables, and thus...pulling themselves up to the top.

* * *

At the top of the rock formation, the Sith artillery emplacement was raining fire down on the battlefield.

A couple troopers were standing on guard, or helping to load the gun with more proton shells.

One of them heard a clanking noise, followed by rock crunching. He looked in the direction of the noise and saw three hooks on the cliff. They had cables attache to them. He walked over and saw that they were swaying from side to side. Then the realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

He aimed at one of the cables and fired.

* * *

"AAAHHHHHH!" CT 8869 screamed as his cable was severed, causing him to plummet to the rocky base below. His armor, thankfully, hid the gore for the most part.

This prompted Cody and CT-8867 to move faster.

They eventually reached the top, 8867 being the first up and over the top. He tried to bring his rifle to bare on the Sith trooper facing him, but the Sith trooper sent several blaster bolts into his chest. He fell backwards over the cliff.

Cody was the last man standing. He jumped over the cliff with his rifle and charged the lone sith trooper as baster bolts struck the cliff behind him.

The Sith trooper charged at Cody and they tried to bash each other with their rifles.

They clashed, using their rifles as blunt instruments to duel.

The sith trooper's two comrades jumped down from the gun position to help, but before they could...Cody swiftly brought his rifle stock into the Sith troopers black faceplate. The force was so great that he broke the sith trooper's neck.

The two remaining sith troopers attacked them with stun batons.

Cody blasted one in the face, killing him.

But the other on was too close for him to line up a shot. So like with the first sith trooper, he resorted to CQC...close quarters combat.

He dodged the stun stick that his opponent was using, and held his rifle up like a barbell. He brought it up into the trooper's face, forcing him to stumble back. He fell back, and Cody moved swiftly. He pressed a button on his rifle, activating a laser bayonet. He brought it down into the Sith trooper's armored abdomen. When he withdrew the blade, the trooper flipped over and tried to crawl towards a blaster rifle. But just as his fingertips brushed against the rifle of his fallen comrade, he felt Cody stepping on busi back with an armored boot, before plunging his laser bayonet deep into the trooper's throat.

When he withdrew his bayonet, he saw the gunner pointing the artillery piece at him.

"I have you now, Republic filth!" he declared as his crosshairs hovered around Cody's head.

* * *

Back down by the crashed gunship, which looked like swiss cheese, Waxer and the other clones were still fighting for their lives.

A platoon of mechanized Sith infantry were advancing with several light tanks. They kept the clones suppressed with their anti-infantry weaponry.

Only Waxer, Boil, and a few other clones remained, aside from the wounded. They were pinned down.

A trooper named Woolley aimed over cover to take a couple pot shots, but a blaster bolt landed a few inches in front of him. "SHIT!" He exclaimed before slamming back against the gunship for cover. "This isn't going well".

"Yeah, No Shit!" Another clone exclaimed.

Boil moved next to Waxer.

"Waxer, if the commander doesn't take that gun down soon, we're cooked!" Boil exclaimed

"I know, I know. We've gotta hold out a little...wait," Waxer said. He pointed up at the promontory. "...Look!"

Everyone looked up. They saw the sun reflecting off of something.

Boil looked at Waxer.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" He asked.

"Yeah, I Am. Everyone..." Waxer called out as he pointed up at the glint of light. "...Concentrate your fire on that reflection!"

The clones all aimed up at the glint of light and opened fire.

* * *

Back up on the promontory, the gunner had his fingers close to the triggers. But before he could fire, a hailstorm of blue blaster bolts ripped him apart. His scorching remains slumped over the gun controls.

Commander Cody was surprised, but relieved. Not to mention alive. But, he decided, he would worry about that later.

The clone commander climbed onto the gun and pulled the burning corpse out of the seat before jumping into it himself.

He turned the gun around and down towards the enemy forces on the ground.

 _'Alright you Sith bastards, time to give you a taste of your own medicine'_.

He waved the crosshairs over the Imperial forces about to overrun his men.

* * *

Waxer, Boil, Woolley, Trapper, and a few other troopers were holding the line.

But they were pinned down and running low on ammo.

Trooper Woolley's blaster was shot. It exploded in his hands and made his hands sting. He seethed in pain as he looked at his shredded guanlets.

The battle was waging fiercely around the crash site. Judging by the tone in the Clone's voices, it was desperate.

"Target 2 o'clock!"

 **"** Two mags left!"

"Boil, talk to me!"

 **"** I'm okay!" Boil called out to Waxer

 **"** Watch your flank!" Another trooper called out.

 **"** Target 9 o'clock, range, 50 meters!" A trooper said, before he turned around and looked at Woolley. He grabbed a DC-15 rifle and handed it to Woolley. "Take this and stay down!" He said before he was shot in the back of the head and killed.

"Wade's down!" Woolley called out as he cocked his DC-15 and began taking out targets from inside the wreckage. Several Sith trooper went down, but many many more took their place.

"Reloading, cover me!" One trooper called out.

"Covering!" Another trooper replied.

 **"** Last mag!"

 _Lt. Waxer throws a mag at Woolley._

"Woolley! Last mag! Make it count! Team, ammo check!"

Imperial gunships come in to support the light armor.

 **"** There's too many of them!"

"Trapper! Last mag!" One trooper informed.

"Pick your shots, make 'em count!"

"New target, range, 80 meters!"

"Got it, got it!"

"I got three rounds left! Boil shouted out. He got up and fired his last laser bolts. They flew straight and true, spearing an Imperial trooper in the chest plate.

But then Boil is shot and wounded in the leg. "GAH!"

"Boil! Hang on!" Waxer called out as he dragged Boil behind cover

"Oh shit..." Boil groaned in pain as Waxer dragged him.

 **"** Defend this position!" Waxer called out to his remaining troopers.

They kept fighting. But one by one, the troopers ran out of ammo. And Imperial forces continued to close in on the crash site.

But just as a hope seemed lost, The cannon at the top of the promontory cut loose with a barrage of devastating firepower. The rounds slammed right into the Imperial tanks and gunships. They all exploded. Many of the infantry weren't lucky either. They began to retreat.

The Clone looked up over cover to see what was happening. The turret at the top of the rock formation began to fire on Sith positions near the frontline, clearing the way for Republic forces in the distance to advance.

"The commander did it. They're retreating! HAHAHAHAH!" Trapper laughed out loud.

"That's a sweet sight," Woolley said as he leaned against the hull of the wreckage.

"Yeah, you better run," Boil said, while he was on the ground, staring up at the ash filled sky.

* * *

Later, after driving the Sith forces back, Republic forces began to establish a foothold on the planet. A large base with buildings, landing pads, and an outer fence with turrets, had been set up.

Gunships were landing around the clock, dropping off troopers, supplies, and viechles.

A med station had been set up for the wounded troopers. Cody and his men have just arrived from the field. The wounded were dropped off an the landing zone, whilst the others went to the newly set up barracks.

The clone commander headed for the command center.

Along the way, other troopers saluted him as he passed. When he got to the command center, he took his helmet off and walked into the makeshift CIC, which looked like it was hastily set up, having a holo-projector underneath a tent.

Obi-Wan and a few officers looked up from the holo-table and saw Cody coming in, who snapped a salute.

"Cody! It's good to see you," Obi-Wan said.

"Likewise sir," Cody said.

"The fighting in my sector was more difficult than anticipated," Obi-Wan said, holding up a bandaged hand. "How was it where you were?"

Cody smirked.

"Heh. Routine. About what we expected".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Well folks, that's part 34.**

 **Hope you enjoyed. Next chapter, part 35, will focus on Ahsoka and the 501st for the most part.**

 **But until then, I'll see you around. This is Grubkiller, over and out.**


	35. Chapter 35-Trooper's ARC-Angel

**Hey folks, Grubkiller here.**

 **Here's part 35 of '** ** _Fall of the Republic'_** **.**

 **This chapter will basically be ripped from my 'Keeping the Boys Inspired' Story, only it will be far ... far less kinky than that story, as this is supposed to be darker and more mysterious.**

 **Hope that you enjoy.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Mandalore System_.

"I can't believe we're back here again," Ahsoka Tano said.

The ex-Jedi was out on patrol with a squad of clone troopers, who were riding across Mandalore's desert landscape using ISP speeders. She was riding in the same speeder as Rex. Tup and Echo rode one speeder. Hardcase and Jesse rode the third one. They were on their way back to the domed capital city of Sun'dari, which was being ruled by Bo-Katan Kryze.

Kryze was allowing the Republic to use Mandalore as a base of operations for their strikes into the outer rim.

They sped across the landscape, keeping an eye out for any Shadow Collective remnants, led by Commander Gar Saxon, that remained from when the Republic besieged and subsequently bulldozed their way across the surface, back when Darth Maul was in charge. They sped through several previous battlefields, many of which were in burnt out old fortresses.

They made sure to avoid areas with high amounts of radiation.

"Well, at least this time we're the ones safe behind the giant walls," Rex said.

Ahsoka looked out over the landscape. "Yeah..." she said, "...at least there's that".

She and Rex were referring to how they had to bust their asses to take the city from the shadow collective defenders.

Just as Ahsoka was thinking of the past, they were coming up on one of the airbases outside of Sun'dari's dome. Republic troopers patrolled the perimeter. Snipers in the guard towers had a commanding view of the terrain for miles on end. When they got inside, they saw the base buzzing with activity. AT-TE tanks stomped towards the outskirts of the base in order to reinforce the perimeter.

Ahsoka's patrol eventually came to a halt at the speeder garage in the center of the camp. That's when Ahsoka heard several engines buzzing overhead. She and the clones looked up to see over a hundred Y-wings flying overhead. They were flying away from the Republic warships that were hanging above the capital city, and up into orbit. They were on their way to Botajef. They were softening up the enemy forces in preparation for the 501st Legion's upcoming invasion of the Separatist aligned Mandalorian colony.

"There goes our flyboys," Echo said.

"That's right. Keep hittin'em boys," Jesse said.

"We'll have that Mando colony under our control in just a few weeks," Hardcase said.

Ahsoka smiled to herself.

 _'We'll have this won in no time,'_ she thought to herself.

* * *

Later, Ahsoka went to the barracks. She was going there to let them know that she was going out on leave.

She walked in to see some of her men playing sabacc. A stack of credits were in the center the table. Other clones were eating meals, while others cleaned weapons, or watching something on the holo. Some were looking a pin-up art of scantily clad girls.

 _'Boys will be boys_ ,' Ahsoka thought to herself.

She grabbed a snack and went to sit down with some of the boys. He overheard some of them talking about shore leave.

"Ya know, in a few weeks when this is all over, we'll be able to go back on shore leave."

"Ahhh, shore leave," Clone Trooper Tup said.

"No other word in the basic language can make a soldier weep with joy quite as much," Kix agreed.

Rex and Ahsoka smiled at the joy that came from their men whenever they talked about shore leave. The usual stories included girls, drinking, or just doing whatever the Hell soldiers did when they were on leave. Ahsoka even heard of a few troopers that started families back home.

"Five whole days to do whatever the hell we want," Hardcase said.

"Some people get all the luck," one trooper said. "Hey what would you do on leave right now".

"I don't know. But before we do, I want to be apart of a huge victory parade when we get back."

Before anyone else could answer, he was shot down by another clone.

"Hey guys, how 'bout we actually focus on getting through this operation alive before we start thinking about leave?" He asked pessimistically.

The other clones started throwing their cards at him to get him to shut up.

"I'm serious."

"Come on trooper," Ahsoka said. "Let the boys dream".

This was actually a testament to how many soldiers in the Republic felt right now, and Ahsoka realized it deep down. These men weren't thinking about the distant future. They were thinking about survival. The end of the war and planning for the future were always secondary.

"So Commander, you got anything special planned when this war is over?" Kix asked.

"I just can't wait until I can hold my Luxie close to me and never let go," Ahsoka said, referring to her boyfriend, Lux Bonteri, as she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms tightly around herself.

The squad began hooting and hollering, causing her to blush.

"Alright alright, enough!" Rex called out, before he smiled and shook his head back and forth.

That's when a voice started to come over the base's PA system, causing Ahsoka and the others to tense up.

"All personnel, we have incoming Y-Wings coming in for a landing," the voice called out, "All hanger bay personnel muster on the airfield and standby to assist pilots where needed".

One trooper shot up from his seat. "Come on. Let's go see 'em come in."

Several other troopers shot up to follow.

Ahsoka smiled at her men's enthusiasm. That voice on the PA meant that the Y-wings were back from their mission to Botajef.

"Well, I guess we should go see if the mission was a success." Rex said, getting up from his seat.

"Right behind you, Rexster."

They went outside to watch the bombers returning.

* * *

Ahsoka and Rex met up with some of the others to watch them return.

Jesse saw them coming. "Commander, Captain! Nice of you to join us lowly grunts to watch the show.

Ahsoka smiled and shrugged. "Wouldn't miss it, trooper," she said. Ahsoka then looked up and saw the different bombers coming in. They weren't in a big group, so they slowly trickled in.

Everyone smiled and cheered as they came in.

"I bet that planet's just gonna be an asteroid belt by the time we get there," one clone called out.

"Wouldn't it be great if everyone came back in one piece?" One of the shinies asked in a very hopeful manner.

"Hey, how much you wanna bet that we don't meet any resistance from those Mandalorian seppies when we get to Botajef?" One clone asked. "Every credit you've got trooper," another one shot back.

They continued to watch the bombers slowly trickle in. But then Ahsoka noticed something. They all had scorch marks on them. Some more than others. Then she noticed that some were trailing smoke. Then she noticed that there were still so few of them. So far, she counted about 70 bombers. 70 out of the original 120.

"Something's wrong," Ahsoka said while leaning over to Rex. "Where are the rest of them?"

Rex didn't answer. He was probably thinking the exact same thing.

Some of the bombers landed in the Venators hovering above them. Others touched down in the airfield.

The troopers were taken aback when they saw several Y-Wings scraping across the tarmac to the air strip. Clone Medics pulled wounded pilots out of some of the cockpits after manually pulling open the canopies. Some of the Y-wings they pulled pilots out of burst into flames a few seconds later.

One Y-wing was trailing smoke from both engines before heading into one of the Venator's side hangers, before disappearing inside of the ship's hanger bay. Seconds later, several explosions ripped through the port-side hanger, causing a massive explosion that blasted the hanger doors off, and sent flaming debris to the surface below.

The troopers around Ahsoka were dead quiet. That's when some of the pilots began to walk passed them. Some of them were limping, or holding their sides.

"Hey pilot!" One trooper called out, getting his attention. "What the hell happened?"

"We flew into a goddamn hornet's nest, that's what happened. The flak was thicker than a nebulae, and we lost half our ships to it," he said before he limped away.

"What's the resistance on Botajef look like?" Another trooper asked.

The same pilot answered back. "A large fleet. Plus every Clanker, Mando, and terrorist that hates the Republic, from Bonadon to Hutt Space".

The troopers were all silent. But then they began to disperse. Some of them commented on the upcoming operation.

"Botajef's going to be a nightmare to take, isn't it?"

"I thought we won the war. Yet here we are, still fighting in the Outer Rim".

Ahsoka could feel it. The morale of the men just took a sharp dive. And there was no signs of it going back up in the near future.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Outer Rim_.

Botajef wasn't the only planet that the Republic was having trouble with.

In several different sections of the outer rim, Republic forces were besieging the last major pockets of separatist resistance. But it was taking forever. As Republic forces continued to advance, fighting over many planets that they had already taken months ago, they continued to sustain heavy casualties.

Even though the architects of the Clone War's re-ignition - the Sith Empire - were also under siege, the war continued to drag on.

People back home were becoming more restless.

There were calls to remove Dalyell from office and replace him with a "strong man". It was only a matter of time before these hairline fractures started to expand into something worse. A threat closer to home was all anyone needed for that to happen.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Ahsoka's Quarters, RSV Indomtiable_.

Ahsoka flew her speeder towards the RSV Indomitable, which was docked just outside of Sun'dari's dome.

When she deactivated the engine, she got off and headed for the elevator after checking in with the deck officer.

The elevator stopped on her floor. As she looked for her room, she saw clones and officers. Some were just taking a casual stroll. But others were being rushed to the med bay after what happened earlier with the bombers.

She watched as one injured clone pilot was being taken to the med bay. He groaned in pain as the medics carried him. She shook her head in slight sadness, feeling sorry for the trooper.

Ahsoka reached the door to her quarters.

She punched in the access code and the door slid open with a hiss. It was a generic room like all of the other crew quarters. Gray walls and flooring, with white lights on the walls. It had a desk, a bed, and a viewport that allowed her to look outside at the deserts of Mandalore. But unlike most crew quarters, since she was an officer, she had a refresher.

She went into her small refrigerator and grabbed a jogan fruit from the fruit basket. Ahsoka bit into it and then walked over to her bed and kicked her boots off.

With the fruit in one hand, she reached into the drawer from the nightstand next to her bed, and grabbed her civilian style com-pad. Plopping down on the couch and laying on her stomach, she turned the pad on and began swiping through it.

 _Hm, advertisments, news articles, propaganda posters, personal pictures._

Then she looked at an advertisement for a magazine called ' _Grand Army Gazette'_. They were having a photoshoot tomorrow in the hanger bay of this ship, conveniently, for one of its sections: _Republic bombshells;_ the section that had all of the scantily clad girls that the boys used as pin-up posters.

' _Hmm. I wonder if I could pull that off?_ ' Ahsoka thought to herself.

Then she shook her head, thinking about how silly that would be. But then she started thinking of something that Lux told her on Onderon, as he started to pleasure her before she shipped out to fight in the Listehol Campaign several weeks ago.

* * *

 _Lux grunted while Ahsoka moaned against his lips. He got out of his jacket and threw it to the side. He had a white button-up collared shirt underneath with long sleeves. Lux then went down Ahsoka's face, trailing kisses along her cheeks and jawline. He eventually trailed down her head-tails, his kisses alternating between her white and blue stripes._

 _The young senator was rewarded with Ahsoka's giggling._

 _"I see your self-control is as non-existant as ever," she said before she began._

 _"What can I say?" he breathed into her neck, his hands still rested on her soft breasts inside of her unzipped bodysuit. "...you motivate your men to fight, just as your body motivates my urges."_

 _His hands clenched and unclenched, making the soft flesh sink and rise with his fingers._

 _This made Ahsoka sigh and throw her head back into the pillow._

* * *

 _'Your body motivates me, just as you motivate your men to fight.'_

' _Motivate'_. Ahsoka thought of what Lux said.

' _Motivate'_.

 _'With my body?_ '

Then her eyes shot open.

"That's it!" She exclaimed before talking to herself. "If my men are going to keep fighting, I just need a way to motivate them."

Then she scrolled back to the advertisement of _Republic Bombshells_.

"...And I know just how to do it".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Hanger bay, RSV Indomitable, outside Sun'dari_.

In the main studio, which was a section of the _Indomitable's_ hanger, the photographers were taking their pictures of the different models, who wanted to show off their... talents... to the men of the Grand Army.

The applicants were from a variety of different species, and were all dressed in different ways. Some were fully dressed, some were scantily clad, and one or two were just wearing robes to hide their nude bodies.

They were posing with several different props, including fake missiles, in front of artwork that depicted war, you name it.

When the last girl walked out of the camera shot.

The photographer, a human male, was speaking with Fern, the twi'lek that was in charge of this whole operation. She wore skintight black pants and a blue tube top, both of which hugged her large breasts and her bubbly behind incredibly well.

"So, how many more girls do you have for me today?"

"There should just be one left," she said.

Then they heard the door hiss open behind them. Everyone turned to see a Togrutan teenager walking through the doors.

It was Ahsoka Tano.

Ahsoka was wearing the exact same outfit that she used to wear when she left the order, her old Jedi outfit. Same arm braces and armlets, same top, same leggings, and the same boots and gloves. Except there were several modifications that she apparently made to the outfit. The turtleneck that covered her throat was gone, and the small gold jewel that she wore was moved down. The hole of her chest was widened, giving the onlookers an even more unhindered look of her breasts. The top itself was cut off a couple inches below the chest, showing off her stomach and back. The skirt was also shorted to give of a better view of her strong thighs and curvaceous rump.

The girl also seemed to doll herself up with some makeup that seemed to make her orange skin glow. She also wore lipstick that matched the color of her outfit.

She had her front two head tails moved behind her shoulders.

As she walked across the studio, the eyes of all of the slack-jawed men, and a few of the girls, were locked on her, never leaving her incredible body. Certain parts of her body started jiggling in an almost hypnotic fashion.

When she got in front of the holo-cam, she sat down in front of the camera.

She blushed when she realized that everyone was staring.

"Hello," she said, bashfully. "Are we ready to start?"

The photographer shook his head and smiled. "Of coarse my dear. Just be yourself and... just try to have fun with it," he said.

Ahsoka smiled.

"Alright," she said before she smiled and started striking a sexy pose in front of the background. "Shoot".

* * *

 _Several pictures were taken of Ahsoka. But the one that was chosen was her best one._

 _It was a picture of her wearing her modified Jedi outfit, while leaning against a wall, with her thighs pressed together and her knees bent. She had her right hand on her right thigh, and her other arm was reaching behind her head. Her lips were parted, as she stared into the camera in a seductive manner. (A/N: What I'm describing is actually the cover art that I used for this story)._

 _It was so good that when the publishers for the 'Grand Army Gazette' saw it, they used it immediately, putting it in their latest issue. It was the first image that they wanted in the 'Republic bombshells' section._

 _And then it was published._

 _Troopers all across the galaxy saw the image and were completely taken aback by the image... in a good way._

 _The image became so popular that it was used as nose art for Republic gunships, and hung up on the walls of Barracks all across Republic space. The troopers of the 501st Legion, Ahsoka's unit, dubbed it 'Trooper's ARC-Angel'._

 _Ahsoka was, after all, their guardian angel._

 _Everyone seemed to be enjoying the new image of Ahsoka Tano. Some people, including some of Ahsoka's men in the 501st, would go out and find a quiet spot to enjoy the image with tissue, a jar of lotion, and their hands._

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Ahsoka's quarters, RSV Indomitable_.

Back in her quarters, Ahsoka was speaking to Lux via her compad, which was propped up on the table in front of her. They were talking about Ahsoka's photoshoot.

"So let me get this straight... you went to a photoshoot, and posed like the other women?"

"Sure did. I'm still dressed for the part," Ahsoka said, before she stood up and posed for Lux in her modified outfit.

"I see that," Lux said as his eyes began to wander down her body.

Ahsoka smiled and rolled her eyes. "You can still look at my eyes, Luxie. They haven't gone anywhere." Lux's eyes shot back up to her face. He was smiling sheepishly. She chuckled. "Don't worry. I'll hold on to it."

Lux smiled.

She smiled back.

"So tell me, how are things going in the Senate?"

Lux gave an exacerbated sigh. "Not good."

"Why? What's wrong?" Ahsoka asked.

"The Palpatine loyalists are losing their heads. Assuming they have any."

Ahsoka smiled in response to the comment.

"They want to remove Chancellor Dalyell from office." He said.

"Why?"

Lux shrugged his shoulders.

" _I don't know... because he's not Palpatine. And they treat anyone that disagrees with them to be Separatists. To them, I'm a slowing moving target for their rhetoric"._

Ahsoka saw the distraught look in his eyes. She scooted over, reached up and pulled his head down so tat he could rest on her lap. She then began to scratch his hair. This action made his depressed look disappear. "It's okay, Luxie. They'll accept you one of these days.

He huffed in response. " _Of coarse they will... when I'm dead, or one of them"_. Then he looked back at her. " _What about you? How are things going on Mandalore?_ "

"Good. We're about to ship out to Botajef soon," Ahsoka said as she felt the ship rumble as the hyperdrive powered up. Ahsoka looked outside her viewport just in time to see the stars elongate, before the ship shot off into the blue and white tunnel of hyperspace. "Very soon. We're on our way now."

"Alright. I think I'll let you get back to your men," Lux said.

"Okay," Ahsoka said, sweetly.

"I love you," Lux said.

Ahsoka smiled, before she leaned into the screen, and kissed Lux's face on the screen. "I know."

Then she placed her hand on the screen. Lux did the same from his end. They smiled at each other. "Be careful, my ARC-Angel".

Ashoka's blushed even harder, realizing that Lux saw her pin-up art, which had already gone out across the galaxy. "I will," she said, before the transmission was terminated. Then she went off to join her men.

* * *

 _RSV Indomitable, in hyperspace en route to Botajef_.

The _RSV Indomitable_ , and several of its sister ships ( _Coruscant Sky, Pioneer, War Spike, Light of Day, Reconciliation, and the Sovereign_ ), along with a couple dozen escorts and support ships, jumped out of hyperspace. The blue and white shining tunnel being replaced with the endless black void of space, in all of its star-filled beauty. They were also surrounded by several other Republic battle groups, who were battling off droid star-fighters from the local separatist holdouts, who were being assisted by pirates, slavers, and Tervig militiamen.

They were also battling with the old separatist warships that provided support for the local insurgents.

Admiral Yularen and Master Belth Allusis, the new general of the 501st, stood on the bridge. From here, they commanded the ship, as well as the rest of the task force, and the 501st, which was waiting in the hanger bay below.

They were also speaking to a hologram of Bo-Katan Kryze, leader of Mandalore, sworn in by Ahsoka after its liberation from Maul. She held her blue helmet in her arm, allowing her shoulder length red hair to hang freely.

"Admiral, all of the battle groups have reported in. They are ready for group assault," one of the clone officers said.

"Divert all power to the cannons and forward shields. " Yularen ordered.

"Yes Sir," the saluting clone said before he walked away.

Master Allusis glanced over to Bo-Katan. "Are your forces ready for action, Kryze?" Allusis asked.

She cracked a smile. "And raring. See you on the other side, Jedi." She said as the ships all dropped out of hyperspace. "And to you," Allusis replied, as the planet came into view. Then Bo's hologram disappeared after giving them a slight bow of honor.

Botajef hung in their viewport. This was a planet that Gar Saxon was getting most of his support for his fellow terrorists, a Separatist planet with a Sith base on the surface. From here, they lashed out at Mandalore, and any Republic forces within range. It was time to cleanse the planet of the enemies of the Republic.

Clone Captain Rex walked onto the bridge. "General".

Allusis turned around to face him. "Yes Captain, what is it?"

"General, the regiment is ready for action. We're waiting for you down in the hanger, sir _._ " Rex said.

"Very well. Let's not keep them waiting," Allusis said before he walked off of the bridge with the commander of the 501st Legion.

* * *

Ahsoka walked through the corridor of the Indomitable, wearing her dark colored post-Jedi outfit. She has just arrived and was on her way down the hanger. But before she got there, she looked out a viewport and saw what looked to be the entire Republic fleet, mobilized for a fight. She saw blue muzzle flashes dotting all of the Republic warships in the system, and then she saw orange dots dotting the surface of the planet.

Explosions.

The Republic wasn't messing around here. Neither were Bo-Katan's people.

Then she continued on to the hanger bay.

There were gunships everywhere, being loaded with Clones and Equipment. Some of the larger ones were carrying AT-TEs.

She saw some troopers from her unit. They were all standing around the lead gunship. It was all blue and had a red face with scary yellow teeth and eyes. Most of these men had served directly under Ahsoka's command in the Siege of Mandalore, when they kicked Darth Maul out of power, and forced him into exile at the end of the Clone Wars.

That meant they were apart of 'Ahsoka's loyalists', 501st Clones that were willing to break Ahsoka out of prison during that whole terrorist fiasco she was framed for.

One of the clones, Echo, looked up and saw her. " _Hey, it's Ahsoka!_ " She heard him say.

All of the clones looked in her direction and began to clap and cheer.

"Let's here it for the _ARC-Angel_ ," Tup said.

The clones began hooting and hollering.

Ahsoka blushed when she realized that they had all seen her pin-up art.

Just before she had to leave for the front, she went to a photo-shoot that was being held by the ' _Grand Army Gazette_ '. She wanted to give something to her troops that would motivate them, especially since, Skyguy was no longer with them.

In the pin-up shot of her, Ahsoka was wearing the Jedi outfit that she was wearing before she left the order. Same arm braces and armlets, same top, same leggings, and the same boots and gloves. Except there were several modifications that she apparently made to the outfit. The turtleneck that covered her throat was gone, and the small gold jewel that she wore was moved down. The hole of her chest was widened, giving the onlookers an even more unhindered look of her breasts. The top itself was cut off a couple inches below the chest, showing off her stomach and back. The skirt was also shorted to give of a better view of her strong thighs and curvaceous rump.

The girl also seemed to doll herself up with some makeup that seemed to make her orange skin glow. She also wore lipstick that matched the color of her outfit.

She had her front two head tails moved behind her shoulders.

In the pose itself, she was leaning against a wall, with her thighs pressed together and her knees bent. She had her right hand on her right thigh, and her other arm was reaching behind her head. Her lips were parted, as she stared into the camera in a seductive manner.

Written around her picture on the nose art, were the words ' _Trooper's ARC-Angel'._ **_(A/N: Look at the cover art for my 'Keeping the Boys Inspired' story)._**

When Ahsoka was in front of her cheering men, she smiled and stretched her arms over her head, striking a sexy pose. She arched her back and pushed her breasts out, and shook her hips slightly. She always liked to keep the boys motivated. And sense she wasn't a Jedi anymore, she was willing to do just that with a little shaking of her hips.

Everyone cheered.

That's when Dogma and Echo looked past a dancing Ahsoka to see Rex and Master Allusis approaching.

"Officers on deck!" Dogma called out. Ahsoka stopped her dancing, and the clones all snapped to attention.

"At ease," Allusis said. "Everyone climb aboard. We're casting off".

"SIR YES SIR!" The clones all shouted in unison.

Everyone piled onto the gunship.

The hatches closed, and the engines hummed.

The pilot, Lieutenant Hawk, called in on the PA system.

" _Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. As we prepare for our final take off procedures, we would like to thank you for your patience. When it comes to air travel, we no you have no other choice, so we'd like to thank you for choosing G.A.R. airlines. So just sit back, relax, and please enjoy the rest of your luxurious flight,_ " Hawk said, making everyone chuckle.

An air traffic signalman waited on the side of the ship. He was giving him signals with a glow sticks in each hand. After he gave the final signal, Hawk gunned the engine and flew out of the hanger bay.

He made a right and flew out of the main hanger bay that ran along the length of the ship.

Dozens of gunships, carrying troopers, vehicles, and supplies to the surface, soared through the skies above Botajef.

* * *

 _RSV Indomitable, in orbit above Botajef_.

Admiral Wullf Yularen looked out the viewport of his Star-Destroyer, which was here to support one of the largest operations conducted by the Republic Military since the Clone Wars ended between the Republic and Confederacy of Independent Systems. He looked down at the planet below, which was the homeworld of two species, the native Jefs and humans that emigrated over the years. During the Clone Wars, they joined the Separatists, and were one of many planets that refused to give up. Now they were giving aid to Mandalorian terrorists, and the local Sith outpost was at the center of it all.

It was time to put a stop to that.

Yularen heard a clone naval officer walk up behind him and saluted.

"Sir. All battle groups are reporting in. Cannons are loaded and all targets are acquired. We're ready to commence orbital bombardment, on your order" the officer reported.

Yularen looked down at the planet below, and could just barely make out the locations of their various targets. Nearby, a hologram showed a fleet of Republic assault ships and gunships heading for the surface.

All around the planet's orbit, the Republic Navy and the Nite Owl fleet both had warships scattered everywhere, their gunnery crews aiming their guns at different points of interest across Botajef, or continuing to fire on the Sith/CIS naval forces still in the region.

"Open Fire," he ordered. The officer saluted, and went to go relay the orders.

Once the order was relayed, the Navy cut loose with a powerful barrage.

Blue and yellow plasma bolts slammed into the cities below, creating a literal _'Hell on Earth_ '.

* * *

Hardcase pointed out of the side of the gunship. "Hey look, the show's about to start," he said.

Everyone looked out the side of the gunship. They saw the assault ships hanging back. For a moment, that's what they were doing: just hanging there. Suddenly, a volley of concussion missiles flew out of several different parts of the ship. The missiles left an arc of smoke in every direction they travelled. They then slammed into the surface, causing explosions to blossom across he landscape, and destroying unseen targets. That's when the clouds started to glow blue, and then thousands of blue lasers pierced through the cloud cover and hit the surface.

It was a beautiful sight to behold.

As the Navy commenced its bombardment, hundreds of Vulture droids flew up to engage the Republic strike force. The escorting Republic fighters peeled away from the strike force to engage the fighters before they could cause chaos throughout the formation. A dogfight erupted outside of the formation.

But then, as the strike force got closer to their destination, black and red puffs of smoke started to blossom around the gunships. They seemed harmless, until they got closer. Then they weren't so harmless.

The Gunship vibrated and shook violently as it was rocked by tiny explosions.

"Ah, Scray!" Kix exclaimed, as he and the other clones were jostled around.

"Where's that crap coming from?" Tup, the weapon's specialist, shouted.

"Talk to me Hawk. What do you see?" Master Allusis asked the gunships's pilot.

" _Enemy AA, coming from the surface. This is gonna get bumpy_ ".

The gunship rocked even more heavily.

Some of the other gunships weren't as lucky. One of the nearest ships was hit directly where the portside wing connects to the main body of the gunship. It caught fire and trailed smoke. The ship lost altitude as it crashed into the sandy surface and exploded in a ball of fire. Many others suffered the same fate.

"Hey Captain..." One of the shinies called out, "...we're gonna be okay right?"

"Don't worry. We'll be fine..." Rex said before he looked at Ahsoka, "...we've got our ARC-angel with us".

Ahsoka smiled and blushed at what Rex just said. She nodded at him before she turned around and looked out of the open hatch of the gunship. They were coming up on the capital city, which was also an industrial center that was spewing out battle droids for the Separatist holdouts, and the remnants of the Sith Empire.

She heard Master Allusis talking into his comm, telling Echo and Jesse to deploy their squad of ARC troopers to peel off and land behind enemy lines, so that they could cause some havoc.

Then a volley of missiles were launched from the city.

"Evasive action!" Master Allusis called out.

The gunships flew to avoid the missiles. Almost all of them were lucky, but some were shot down.

"Red light, standby," the gunship's crew chief said. Ahsoka watched as the troopers all checked their weapons, a series of clicks, beeps, and whines sounded out as they did so, getting ready to pour out of the ship.

Ahsoka reached for her lightsabers. She saw Allusis do the same with his.

" _Welcome to paradise rock jumpers,_ " Hawk said over the comm.

The gunships all touched down.

"Green light," the crew chief called out before the hatch opened, "GO! GO! GO!"

The clones all charged out of the gunship and into the fray, with Ahsoka and Allusis in front of them, using their lightsabers to deflect enemy laser bolts. As Ahsoka helped to lead the clone army for ... _she lost count on how many times_ ... she couldn't help but notice that her men were charging into battle with a newfound energy. It was like their spirits were not only lifted, but shot up into the sky.

Her posing really must've had an effect.

It was her way of letting her men know that their ARC-Angel would always be looking out for them.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **That's part 35 folks.**

 **Hope you enjoyed.**

 **Part 36'll be right around the corner.**

 **Until next time, this is Grubkiller, over and out.**


	36. Chapter 36-Cracks in the Republic

**Hey folks, Grubkiller here.**

 **Here's part 36 of 'FOTR'.**

 **Please, be sure to leave a review when you're done.**

* * *

 **And by the way, I have recently decided that, when this story is done, (and I _will_ be finishing it) I am going to create a new version that is more in line with Revenge of the Sith and canon/legends, but with some obvious deviations. The new version of this story will be called ' _Rise of the Empire',_ but I might wait until Clone Wars season 7 comes out, in case I want to make changes, and I'm going to put it in Clone Wars Fanfiction. I'm going to use that version for tis timeline, but 'Fall of the Republic' can be seen as apart of the timeline as well, if that is what you wish.**

 **I'm sorry if it feels like I can't focus. I just have so many ideas.**

 **But whether you enjoy this version, or the new version I plan on making, I want all of you to be able to enjoy them, and If you want to consider one apart of my timeline, or the other, that's fine.**

* * *

 **Enjoy.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Republic Judiciary Central Detention, maximum security prison, Coruscant_.

In the Republic's most heavily guarded prison, pirates, bounty hunters, and terrorists were under heavy guard from Officers from the Coruscant Security Force.

The officers stood guard. Small teams patrolled the perimeter and the entry points. Their weapons were set to stun. The less dangerous Prisoners were allowed req time and could go to the mess hall. But the more dangerous prisoners, or most valuable, were kept under heavy guard and were confined to their cells.

The most dangerous of them all was a Mirilian dark sider that was convicted of crimes against the Republic. The crime was the terrorist bombing of the Jedi Temple in the third year of the Clone Wars.

Her name was Barriss Offee.

She sat on the floor in the middle of her cell and meditated. No one inside the prison was going to allow her to escape.

Of coarse...the key words are ' _one inside the prison_ '.

Outside of the prison, a pair of guards from the CSF were on duty, protecting a street level entrance into the prison. For a while nothing happened, as was usually the case.

But that's when one of them saw a cloaked figure approaching them.

"Hey, check it out," he said to his fellow guard.

The other guard looked.

He saw what looked to be a Chiss Girl in her early twenties. She was wearing a hooded red cloak. The cloak was parted in front, revealing what she was wearing underneath: A red Bra and Panties, and nothing else. She had a beautiful hourglass figure, and her large breasts jiggled inside of her bra as she walked. Her hips swayed from side to side.

"Well Hello-ho-ho. Is it my birthday?" He joked.

When the girl was right in front of them, they could see her pupil-less red eyes, and her shoulder-length even colored hair.

"Hello there little lady. What brings you out here on this beautiful night?" One guard asked.

She looked at them. "It must be quite boring to be out on guard duty. I was wondering if i could show you a good time?" She said as she went up to on of the guards, pressed her body against his, and hung her arms around his neck.

He smirked. "I can have a good time," he said before he pressed his lips against her's and ran his hands up and down her naked waist. The other guard stood behind her, pressed his bulge against her rump, and placed his hands on her breasts, which he began to squeeze.

The Chiss girl moaned as she reached inside of her cloak and pulled out two metallic cylinders. She pointed one at the guard making out with her, and reached behind her to point the other one at the guard squeezing her breasts. She pressed a button, and red light speared through both guards.

They gasped and looked down at their torsos.

The Chiss girl smiled and withdrew her blades from the dying guards, who collapsed to the ground.

"It's been fun boys. But I have business inside," she said as she took one of their key cards and used it to open the door.

She moved throughout the prison, avoiding patrols as she moved.

Her target was the main control center. She crawled through the ventilation system until she was above it.

One guard was holding a steaming cup of caf.

Another one was sleeping at the security station.

They didn't suspect a thing.

Good.

She jumped down through the vent and went to work cutting everyone apart.

When they were all dead, she pressed a button that opened almost every cell in the prison.

* * *

Prisoners ran out of their cells and overran the guards. Guards were beaten, shanked, or shot to death by the most brutal criminals in Republic space. Alarms wailed throughout the prison. The remaining guards dressed in riot gear to try and contain the prisoners, but to no avail. Soon, the prisoners had armed themselves and were getting to work, taking over the prison. A few prisoners, however, decided not to stick around, and left when the coast was clear.

* * *

Back in the control room, the Chiss figure went to go where the real bad prisoners were held.

She only managed to open the cells of the low tier prisoners.

She walked through the prison, watching as it erupted into utter pandemonium.

Everywhere she looked or went, prisoners were having their way with the place. The guards put up a fight, but they were overrun. They couldn't be co-ordinated properly, because the control center was already compromised. That meant no ray shields, no cameras, and no PA system.

The guards were blind. And eventually, they were driven out, killed, or worse.

The Chiss girl continued to walk through the prison. Her outfit, or lack thereof, attracted some unwanted attention.

A gang saw her coming and they decided to block off her way.

Some of the prisoners catcalled her.

They whistled inappropriately.

Some clapped.

"Hey baby, where are you off to in such a hurry?" He asked as he went to reach out to her breasts.

Before he could, the Chiss girl reached out and used the force to lift him in the air and crush his windpipe.

As he gasped for air and kick his feet, the other prisoners backed away in fear.

The Chiss girl crushed his windpipe and threw him to the side.

"Anyone else?" She asked.

They all took a step back or ran down the hall in fear.

One prisoner just looked at her.

She looked at him with a gaze that could cut through durasteel.

"I'm both terrified and aroused," he said.

She smiled at him and blushed a little before she continued on her way.

* * *

Barriss Offee, AKA the seventh sister, waited in her cell.

Through the force, she could see the mass chaos that had erupted throughout the prison.

But none of it had reached her part of the prison.

Not yet.

That's when she heard the sounds of blaster fire and yelling outside.

" _Who the Hell is that_?" One guard yelled out.

" _Who the Hell cares? She's trying to kill us! So kill her back_!" Another guard yelled.

Blaster fire continued to echo through the corridors and illuminate the walls with blue light.

Barriss could hear the sound of a lightsaber humming, and the sounds of cutting and grunting.

Then she heard the sound of bodies hitting the floor.

That's when she saw the cell door open and the ray shield deactivate.

Barriss was confused. But then she saw a half-naked Chiss Girl enter the cell.

"Darth Xuadia! I must saw that it's good to see you again. Very good to see you," Barriss said, giving Xuadia's body a quick scan.

Xuadia smiled seductively.

"Mmmm. It's good to see you too," Xuadia said before she walked and pressed her body against's Barriss'. She then smashed her lips against Barriss'.

Her eyes shot open in surprise. But then she puckered her lips and returned Xuadia's kiss.

After a few minutes, Xuadia slid her tongue into Barriss's mouth. Then she ran her hands up Barriss' body until she rested them on her large breasts.

Barriss broke the kiss and blushed. But Xuadia continued to press her body against Barriss'.

"Uhhhmm...mistress. I don't think that this is the best time," she said.

Barriss then felt all of the buttons on her skin tight prison jumpsuit break off. The suit was then yanked down her body, forcefully revealing her entire olive colored body.

She looked down in surprise and blushed. All she had on was a purple bra and a matching pair of panties...and nothing else.

Xuadia smiled and let her cloak fall off of her body. She then reached behind her to unbuckle her bra.

"Hmmm. I disagree," she said as her bra fell to the floor, letting her massive breasts jump out to say hello.

 **(Lemon scene starts)**

Xuadia then went to the back wall and stretched her arms over her body.

"Do with me as you please," she said as she closed her eyes, arched her back, and pushed her blue breasts out.

The seventh sister looked at Xuadia's massive tits, and then she blushed when she realized that she was staring.

"It's okay my love. I don't bite," Xuadia said, her eyes still closed as she continued presenting.

Barriss thought about and decided that maybe it wouldn't hurt.

She got up and walked over to the topless Chiss girl.

Her breasts jiggled inside of her purple bra as she walked over.

When she was right in front of her friend, she looked down at Xuadia's boobs.

She reached out with both hands and rested them on the pair of royal blue melons.

They were so warm, not to mention soft...except for her nipples.

Barriss was so focused on the two tits that she was touching, that she didn't realize that she had started squeezing them.

Xuadia sighed and opened her eyes. She looked at Barriss, who continued to knead her breasts.

"Mmmmm. Are you enjoying yourself Barriss?" Xuadia asked.

Barriss nodded as she continued to squeeze her blue friend's breasts.

Xuadia smiled and reached for the buckle that held Barriss' bra.

"Good..." she said as Barriss' bra fell to the floor, freeing her jiggling olive melons. Xuadia pressed up against Barriss, smashing their breasts and stomachs together. "...because you're about to enjoy it more".

She smashed her lips against Barriss'.

Both ladies parted their lips to allow each other to gain entry with their tongues.

Xuadia broke the kiss and sat down on Barriss' prison cot.

Barriss still stood up, but it was so that she could remove what remained of her clothing. She pulled her panties down. Xuadia the same with her own panties as Barriss sat down on the bed next to her.

Barriss and Xuadia looked into each other's eyes.

That's when Barriss pushed her lips against Xuadia's. As their hands began to roam each other's bodies, Barriss pushed her lover onto the bed, with her on top.

She laid on top of Xuadia and she began to rub herself up against her as they continued to make out.

After a few minutes of making out, Barriss began to plant kisses on Xuadia's body until she reached her breasts.

She squeezed them with her hands, admiring how soft they were, before she pressed her lips against Xuadia's nipple, which was the only thing on those tits that weren't soft.

She continued to suck on it before giving the other one the same treatment.

Xuadia was moaning in pleasure the entire time after throwing her head back.

Barriss then straddled Xuadia's hips.

She smiled as she began to ride her waist.

Both of them moaned in pleasure as their nether regions rubbed against each other's.

Xuadia propped herself up and buried her face in between Barriss' breasts.

Barriss threw her head back and groaned in pure ecstasy.

That's when both ladies had their orgasms.

They collapsed onto the bed, their lips locked together.

As they laid in the bed next to each other, they started licking each other's lips.

"That was amazing," Barriss said before she licked Xuadia's lips again.

"Mmmm. I'm curious. Didn't you want to have a similar relationship with that Ahsoka Tano?" Xuadia asked as she brushed her hand up and down Barriss' body.

Barriss looked up at the ceiling in contemplation. She sighed.

"Yes. But unfortunately, she and that human lover of her's escaped my ship before we could make anything of it," she said. _(Escaping the Part. Either version'll do)_

Xuadia smiled. "Too bad," as she got into the 69 position next to Barriss.

They then went to town on each other, burying their tongues into each other's nether regions.

After a few minutes, they both moaned as they orgasmed again, tasting each other's juices.

When they were done, Xuadia mounted Barriss' waist, straddling her.

They looked at each other and smiled, before Xuadia placed her hands on Barriss' breasts, smashing them down.

That's when Xuadia began to writhe against Barriss' waist.

Barriss threw her head back as pleasure began to build up and sweep through her body.

She moaned as Xuadia continued to ride her and squeeze her olive breasts. Xuadia sighed very loudly as she writhed on Barriss.

After a few minutes, Xuadia laid down and began to make out with Barriss.

That's when she used the force to lift both of them up into the air.

Barriss noticed this and pulled herself up so that she could hold Xuadia for dear life.

Xuadia continued to hump the moaning mirilian as they floated in midair.

As her orgasm started to come along, she could no longer hold either of them.

Xuadia moaned loudly before they fell onto the bed, with Barriss on top.

Waisting no time, Barriss buried her face into Xuadia's chest and began to mercilessly hump against her hips.

Xuadia threw her head back and sighed somewhat loudly as the two nude ladies rubbed their slippery bodies against each other's.

"Mistress!" Barriss moaned into Xuadia's breasts. "I love you, Mistress!"

"That's a good girl," Xuadia said as she reached up to stroke the hair of the girl that was vigorously humping her. "Nnnnh," Xuadia moaned as she leaned her head back into the pillow before she closed her eyes, allowing herself to be taken by her olive lover. "You've learned quite fast". She gasped again. "You're going to please Lord Vader quite well".

"Thank you Mistress! I-OH! UHHH!" Barriss moaned out as a white blur filled her vision as she and Xuadia's orgasms rocked through their beautiful bodies.

They moaned loudly as they came hard.

 **(Lemon scene ends)**

When they were done, Barriss collapsed onto the bed next to Xuadia.

Their massive breasts heaved as they panted heavily.

"You were incredible Barriss. Your old crush doesn't know what she's missing," Xuadia said, referring to Ahsoka.

"I was wondering if you could give me your opinion on something?" Barriss asked.

"And what is that my beautiful girl?" Xuadia asked as she propped herself up with her elbows.

Barriss laid down on top of Xuadia, her large tits smashing against her's.

"Do you think we can get away with having sex in the warden's office before we leave?" Barriss asked.

Xuadia looked confused for a moment. But then her eyes flared up and she smiled seductively.

Both girls giggled before they began to make out again.

* * *

A couple hours later, with the prison totally overrun, Clone Security troopers from the Coruscant Guard came to clear out the prison.

As the Security Troopers began to clear out the prison, deciding not to take prisoners, Barriss and Xuadia made their move to escape the prison. They snuck past the checkpoints by going through an storm drain that ran beneath the streets. They were only wearing their bras and panties underneath their cloaks.

Both ladies walked almost shoulder to shoulder, their hips bumping into each other occasionally.

These two ladies were fugitives from the law. But no one knew where they were, sense the security cameras were deactivated.

They were on their way to their hideout. From there, they would carry out the will of their Masters... _and make each other scream in ecstasy_.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Byss system, Imperial Citadel_.

Darth Sidious sat in his private chamber in the Imperial Citadel, meditating. That's when the Grand Inquisitor's hologram appeared before him.

"The only reason that you should be disturbing me at this hour is that you have something important to say," he said without facing the hologram.

" _Yes, my lord. Darth Xuadia has just informed me that she has freed Barriss Offee from prison, and they've obtained information on the shipyards of Anexes, and the relay stations that protect it. We're ready to strike on your order. And they are ready to spread the word on Coruscant._ "

"You may proceed." Sidious said without turning around.

" _Yes, my lord,_ " the Inquisitor said with a bow before his hologram disappeared.

It was time to hit the Republic where it hurt.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Axum system, Core regions_.

Anaxes.

A fortress world located on the Perlemian Trade Route in the Axum system of the Core Worlds. Known as the "Defender of the Core", for millennia it was the site of the Republic Navy's primary fleet base and War College. It was considered the site of naval power, tradition and prestige by the Galactic Republic, even when it didn't have a standing military.

This planet also served as the primary staging area for the Republic Navy's reserve forces, as well as a resupply center for any ships passing through the region.

Whoever controlled Anaxes controlled the Core.

Which was why the planet has always been the target for any invader in every war that the Republic was ever involved in. It was attacked twice during the Clone Wars by the Separatists. Both attempts did a great amount of damage, but ultimately failed.

Now, the Republic fleet stood guard, ready to defend the planet against any potential threat. But this late into the war, and with the Separatists so heavily isolated in the outer rim, and the Sith Empire in its death throws, the Republic defenders didn't have anything to worry about.

But on the Republic Star-Destroyer, _RSV Ardent_ , Captain Jan Dodonna was hearing things differently.

"Captain, we're picking up multiple bogeys near relay station SD7!"

Dodonna walked over. He leaned over the young ensign's shoulder and saw that there were indeed multiple unknown contacts near that section of the Republic Area of Operation.

He pressed a button and spoke into it. "Relay Station SD7, we are picking up signs in your sector of some 70 odd bogeys, please verify."

After a few seconds, an amused sounding naval crewmen answered back. " _Very funny, Ardent command. That's a big negative. It might just be a glitch in the system._ "

The computer that the ensign was at started to blink. The dots that they just saw disappeared. Then more reappeared in a different area on the map. "Wait a minute, they just moved!"

"Running diagnostics to scan for malfunction." One clone said nearby.

 **"** _The skies are clear, Station. You got yourself some phantom dots. Over,"_ said the crewman of station SD7"

Captain Dodonna contacted another station that was in the new area the dots appeared. "Relay station ZX6, we are reading signs in your sector of some 100 bogeys, can you confirm?"

" _Negatory, Station. Scope is clear. I dunno what to tell ya. Solar interference? Heavy sunspot activity today."_ Said a crewman over the comm.

Captain Dodonna began to contact someone else. "Command, we may have a, uhhh, minor relay malfunction. Are you picking up anything?"

" _THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!_ "

Everyone on the bridge became alarmed. The captain called back. "Command, repeat".

" _We've got droid ships hovering above the construction hub, and vulture droids flying up our ass! How the hell did they get inside the perimeter!?_ " Then came a scream, followed by static.

The captain hit a button, and an alarm started buzzing. The call to general quarters was just sounded off. Clones and officers ran to their stations, ready to repel the attack. Jan Dodonna spoke into the comm system again, attempting to warn the Republic. "All Republic forces in system. Our early warning systems have been bypassed and are presumed unavailable. Enemy forces have slipped into the perimeter, and are attacking the shipyards. Stand-by to repel the invaders".

* * *

The Battle for Anaxes was in full swing.

Separatist and Republic forces were battling over the surface of this vital planet for the third time in the last five years. The admiral of the Republic fleet was dead, and the Separatists outnumbered the Republic.

But despite those long odds, the Republic fought on.

Captain Dodonna's ships continued to heroically face off against numerous Separatist warships. Chunks of durasteel were blasted off of the hulls of ships on either side, before slamming down into the surface like meteorites. Blue and red laser fire crisscrossed like a beautiful, yet deadly, light-show.

But despite the best efforts of Dodonna's task force, the Separatists were rapidly gaining control of the skies above this critical Republic stronghold.

Dodonna held on to a computer console in the control room at the back the bridge, as his ship rocked violently in response to another hit. He coughed, and several of his crew members were thrown to the deck.

"Status!" He called out.

"Sir! Shields are down to 21%, and our fleets been reduced by one-third of its initial strength. If we don't turn things around soon, then we won't be able to retake this planet!" A female crew member called out, before her computer sprayed sparks at her face.

Dodonna looked around after hearing the news. Then he looked around and began to gauge what his crew's reactions were. They were all solemn, as they looked to him for guidance. He could tell that the clones felt the same way, even with their helmets on. He looked back outside of the viewport, and all he saw were dead Republic wrecks that fell to the surface. He let out a long sigh, before he lowered his head in defeat.

That's when another alarm went off. The crew snapped into action, and a clone looked at the readout.

"Sir! We're picking up multiple contacts coming out of hyperspace, behind the Separatists!" The clone called out.

Everyone that could, looked out of the viewports. For a moment, Dodonna thought that the Separatist were receiving reinforcements. But as he looked down at the holo-table in front of him, he saw the familiar triangular shapes of Republic warships. They were behind the Separatists, pointing at their unshielded flanks.

A hologram of a Republic officer materialized in front of Dodonna.

"Need a hand, old friend?" Said the officer.

Jan Dodonna smiled. It was his old friend, Terrinald Screed, a fellow captain. He was contacting him from the bridge of a Victory-class Star-Destroyer, the _RSV Arilonne_. He could see through the holo-table that his ships were maneuvering to deliver a punishing broadside into the Separatists unprotected flanks.

"It's good to see you, 'Terr'. And not a moment too soon".

Captain Screed smiled. "Stand by, we'll take some of the pressure off of you," he said before his hologram disappeared.

The bridge crew cheered when they saw Screed's reinforcements unleash a punishing barrage into the Separatist engines.

* * *

The tides of battle were turning rapidly. Screed's warships continued to pick the Separatist fleet apart one by one. It was now the Separatists who were reduced to life-less hulls that crashed into the surface.

But despite the losing position that Dua Ningo, an aging sullustan admiral, found himself in, he knew that this was a one-way trip, for deep in the hold of his dreadnought was a bomb that had the power to wipe out a city. Which is why he continued to remain stoic in the face of the Republic Navy's continuous onslaught.

He watched as his droids plugged in co-ordinates that led to a key location on the surface beneath them: the construction hub for the Republic navy. When the co-ordinates were punched in, and when the Separatist fleet was mostly destroyed, he felt the ship lurch beneath him. Not just because of the battle outside, but because of the battle outside, but because the ship was adjusting it's coarse to aim directly at the massive domed structure beneath them.

When the ship was locked on coarse, Ningo pressed a button that sent the ship forward into the planet below. They bashed several chunks of space debris of the way, which scraped against their hull with a sickening screech. Then they punched through the cloud cover, which was glowing blue for some reason. The reason revealed itself when blue laser speared through the clouds and struck the ship.

The Republic knew what they were trying to do.

The conning tower was blown away, as well as several important components of the ship. But there was no stopping them now. Nino closed his eyes, and his flagship, the _Unrepentant_ , stabbed into the construction hub. But they weren't merely trying to destroy the construction facility, crippling the Republic's reserve fleet. They wanted to destroy the symbol of the Republic's naval heritage.

The bomb in the ship's hold had the power to destroy cities. But with the fusion reactor deep below the facility, the blast was about to be raised a hundredfold. The last thing that went through Ningo's mind, as his ship disintegrated around him, was that he regretted that he could not live to see the horror on the Republic's face, or a free galaxy.

* * *

The construction facility, and the CIS flagship, disappeared in a blinding white light, forcing all of the onlookers to turn away and shield their eyes as they were temporally blinded. Then the temperature began to rise substantially, as a powerful explosion boomed across the landscape, and began to crack the planet open like an egg.

As a wall of debris began to expand outward across the surface in every direction, the Republic fleet tried desperately to get away from the force of the blast. The last of the Separatist ships, and a few republic ones, were wiped away by the blast. But that wasn't the worst of it. almost every city on one half of the planet was wiped away by the blast, and hundreds of millions of souls along with them.

This was the single most destructive even in Republic history. Not only was it a blow to the Republic's Naval prestige, but it was a blow to civilian morale, that something like this could strike so close to home.

As the Republic counted their losses, the blame for this atrocity was, inevitably, laid at the feet of the sitting Chancellor, Tomas Dalyell.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant_.

"VOTE NOW! VOTE NOW! VOTE NOW! VOTE NOW!"

That was what the senate has been chanting ever since the destruction of Anaxes. After the events in that sector, the Senate has lost almost all faith in Chancellor Dalyell, and are now demanding his removal from office.

The Senate, specifically the Palpatine-loyalists, believed Dalyell to be an incompetent weakling who couldn't keep the Republic safe from outside threats. Because of this, they wanted to vote him out immediately.

Riots were breaking out all over the Core territory once again. They wanted Dalyell gone, yesterday.

And now, it was time for that to happen. The Senate, finally being given what they wanted, cast their votes.

The results were in... and they weren't good for Dalyell. He is now one of only a few chancellors to be voted out this early into his first term. With his removal from office, and his subsequent return to Sera, Mas Amedda has now taken the reigns of the Republic.

* * *

As Amedda stood over the massive convocational chamber, standing in the spot that he has merely stood next too for many years now, and lapped out over the thousands of senators that stared at him.

He started his speech, his booming voice resonating through the chamber as it always did.

"Members of the Senate, Citizens of the Galaxy, and soldiers of the Republic, It is with a heavy heart that I must bid farewell to another dear friend, who served the Republic with honor and dignity. Whatever we may think of Tomas Dalyell, we will always remember him as a man who always answered the call, and did what he could to hold the Republic together. And his planet will always be forever within our debt, as they stood beside us in our fight for freedom against the Separatist Alliance." Amedda said, paying lip service to his predecessor and his supporters. "But now, we must get to work. The road ahead of us is wrought with chaos, and we must travel to together, if we wish to see a peaceful and prosperous galaxy."

The Senate clapped. When they were done, he continued speaking.

"I am deeply humbled by this chance to serve this Republic from such a prestigious office, and I promise you that I will do what I must to keep this Republic together, as my predecessors have all tried."

More clapping. He continued.

"Right now, we must stand firm. We will rise up and finally defeat this terrible menace that has been unleashed upon us. And if we stand together, we will prevail in the face of adversity."

More clapping. Then he continued.

"My first act as Chancellor, will be to command the Republic military to bring a speedy conclusion to this terrible conflict that has ravaged our galaxy, and threatened to destroy our homes for too long."

More clapping. Then he continued.

"My second act, will be to issue a pardon. To someone who very much deserves it. Someone who has suffered a terrible injustice. I am formally issuing a full pardon to former Chancellor, Sheev Palpatine, and clearing him of all charges levied against him by the previous administration."

The Senate exploded into applause, as they heard that their beloved leader was being cleared of all criminal charges.

But to some, this was a horrible revelation. One that would spell doom for liberty-loving patriots across the whole of Republic space.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Imperator-class Star Destroyer, _Invincible_ , personal warship of Darth Vader.

Sheev Palpatine, who has just learned of his pardon, stood on the bridge of his apprentice's flagship. He stood in front of the viewport and watched the fleet take up positions around him.

He smiled.

This was a momentous occasion for himself and his ambitions.

He looked at his apprentice, Darth Vader. He was smiling.

"Congratulations on your pardon, my master." Vader said with a bow.

"Thank you, Lord Vader. Now it is time for us to bring peace to the galaxy."

Vader nodded, just as the stars began to elongate, and they were shot into the blue tunnel of hyperspace.

Next stop: Coruscant.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **AAAHHHHHHH SSSHHIIIIIIIIIIITT! It just got real.**

 **That's part 36 folks. Part 37'll be around the corner.**

 **Be sure to leave a comment in the review section.**


	37. Chapter 37-Last Stand of the Exiles

**Have no fear, Grubkiller is here.**

 **Hey folks. Part 37 is here, it's queer, get used to it.**

 **Please be sure to fav/follow and leave your thoughts down in the review section.**

 **Enjoy ... or else.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Dromund Kaas' moon, Dromund system, staging area for the 212th Attack Battalion_.

All across the Dromund system, the burning wrecks of dozens of Sith battlecruisers and many support ships floated lifelessly. On the other hand, Republic warships, from an Armada large enough to capture this system 5 times over, continued to tear what was left of the Imperial Navy apart, before plastering the surface of several worlds with blaster fire.

Cities burned. Buildings were blown open. Clone Troopers walked over the corpses of Sith warriors and troopers, who lay where they died. Imperial citizens were rounded up. At least those who were willing to give themselves up. Others... many others... made sure they couldn't be captured by the Republic, and experience the horrors that they've heard the Republic committed... from their masters who were deceiving them.

On one of Dromund Kaas' two moons, General Obi-Wan Kenobi stood over a holo-table that surrounded by several clone officers, including his second-in-command Clone Marshal Commander Cody.

They were discussing their next moves, concerning the operation.

"Sir, we've made some incredible progress since we came here. We've cut off Dromund Kaas from the rest of the system, but the Sith Navy is trying to take the system back," a clone officer said, as the holo-table showed images of Sith fleets that had been pushed away from Dromund Kaas, and deeper into the system, by the Republic, but were advancing back on the capital planet. Holographic republic ships that were flashing were in active combat. More holographic Republic ships were hovering above Dromund Kaas itself, bombarding it from orbit. The image then zoomed in on a large dome shield protecting the capital, Kaas City. "The last bastion of Sith resistance on this planet is the capital city. If we can make the capital and kill their leadership, then the Imperial forces will become disorganized and be easy prey for our fleet. But it appears that Kaas City is well protected by a hyper-velocity cannon. It's keeping our ships from getting too close to this part of the planet."

Cody looked from the holo-table to Obi-Wan. "How do you want to proceed, sir?"

Obi-Wan stroked his beard thoughtfully as he studied the holographic image of the city.

"I think I'm going to go for a tour of the city."

* * *

 _RSV Vigilance, starboard launch bay_.

Obi-Wan sat on a speeder bike, which was surrounded by a capsule that was made of trans-parasteel. He was inside of a launch tube, ready to be shot out into space. Behind him, just outside the tube, a clone technician was outside, ready to launch his General into space.

"Alright sir... you're just about ready to go. Are you sure about this?" The 'soft-shell' asked.

Obi-Wan chuckled. "Absolutely not. But I need to get to the surface and shut down that cannon. With this speeder, I'll just seem like a small piece of debris."

"Whatever you say General," the technician said before he closed the door behind Obi-Wan. The launch tube depressurized, and when it was, the hatch in front of Obi-Wan opened up, and he was shot out into space.

He flew through the chaos of battle, as warships from both sides hammered away at each other with red and blue laser bolts.

* * *

 _Sith flagship, the battlecruiser Marauder_.

Admiral Layek Davos, a human admiral with a cybernetic eye, facial implants, and a mechanical arm - something he acquired in the recent battle against Sidious and his confederate minions - stood on the bridge of the Sith flagship, shouting orders to his subordinates.

"Target their bombers. Protect the defense platforms." Davos called out.

"Sir, there's too many of them. We can't shoot them all down-aaccckkkk!" An Imperial crewman said before he was choked with Davos' cybernetic arm.

"If we can't shoot them all down, then call in our fighter reserves to do so!" Davos exclaimed as he continued choking the crewman. "We can't allow the Republic to break through to the surface."

Before anything else could happen, an explosion ripped through the bridge superstructure, causing the ship fall out of orbit. The last thing that Davos saw before being sucked out into the crushing black void of space, was a bearded man inside of a capsule that rammed right through the superstructure.

* * *

 _Obi-Wan's orbital insertion pod_.

Obi-Wan's speeder capsule pierced through the superstructure, causing the ship to lose altitude and crash into a Sith defense platform. Then he entered the atmosphere, causing the re-entry to heat up his capsule. The heat shields protected him from the flames, and they eventually stopped before he was surrounded by puffy white objects. Then he broke through the cloud cover and saw the city on the horizon.

When he was close enough to the surface, the capsule disengaged and split apart, leaving the speeder bike part, which Obi-Wan continued to pilot to the surface. Minutes later, he was safely on the ground, and coasting across the ground.

He was on a mission to destroy what was left of the Sith Empire. Something he never thought that he would be doing when he was Qui-Gon's student.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Medical Center, underneath the Imperial Citadel_.

Deep inside of the Sith's main fortress on Dromund Kaas, a man that was thought to be dead was in the medical bay, being worked on by several droids and medics. The many limbs, robotic and organic, danced across the man's body, as they worked to fix him.

When they were done, their lord and master rose from the table.

Though his lungs burned, and his muscles ached, he was as good as new, because the pain gave him power. And Darth Malgus was going to use that to get his revenge.

* * *

 _Darth Malgus' private chambers_.

Malgus, wearing a mask over his mouth and nose, stood in front of his window, which allowed him to look out over the city.

He watched as his forces moved back and forth throughout the city, taking up their assigned positions in order to repel the inevitable Republic attack. When he looked closer, all he saw were ruined buildings, damaged by Darth Sidious' Separatist forces. When the Empress and her apprentice were both killed, Malgus took over. But he wasn't the emperor. He was merely a servant to Sidious and his lapdog, Darth Vader. Something that irked him to no end, especially since he was forced to watch as his forces were cut down around him.

All while Sidious watched from his ivory tower.

A hologram of his apprentice, Darth Wyyrlok, appeared next to him.

" _I am pleased to see that you have made a full recovery, my Master,_ " Wyyrlok said. " _When can we expect to see reinforcements from Lord Sidious?_ "

Malgus continued to look out over the city.

"Never."

Wyyrlok was taken aback. "What!?"

Magus turned around to chastise his holographic apprentice. "Don't you see, apprentice? Sidious was using us the entire time. He created the Clone Wars so that he could give the Republic an enemy. And because they had an enemy, they had someone to place all of their blind trust and loyalty in. That gave Sidious the power to rule over the galaxy with an iron fist. But when he was disposed those plans were put on hold. Now he's given the Republic another enemy to fight: the Separatist holdouts... and us."

Wyyrlok was listening in stunned silence.

Malgus continued.

"And since his lackeys have succeeded in portraying Dalyell as incompetent, he has been removed from office. And now that Sidious has been pardoned by the Senate, nothing will stop him from reclaiming the Chancellory and ruling the galaxy. We were merely a means to an end. Once he's in power, he will simply cast us aside. Or at least... that's what he thinks."

Wyyrlok cocked one eyebrow above the other. "Master?"

"Ever since I've returned, I've been using the force to go into a deep battle meditation. I can feel the entire Sith Empire. I control their every move. Because of me, we are retaking this system planet by planet, moon by moon, one battle at a time. I can feel the Republic's desperation. Their presence here is faltering. Once they are defeated, and the Jedi Order is destroyed, we will form up and make our next move. Against Sidious and his lapdog, Vader".

Wyyrlok was smiling.

"This galaxy will be ours".

"Yes Master," Wyyrlok said with a bow, before his hologram disappeared.

* * *

When the hologram disappeared, Malgus saw his wife standing behind it, watching the entire time.

She was smirking.

"Impressive, my lord. This plan might actually work". She walked up to him and pressed herself up against him in a very tender manner. She rested her head against his chest and stayed there.

Eleena Daru has been by Malgus' side for several years now. She fought by his side in several battles, and even rescued him from the disaster at Alderaan. She was also his wife. She would support and comfort him for as long as he required it.

Malgus wrapped his arms around her waist. He then petted her lekku, which began to slither around his neck.

"Eleena, I-"

She looked upland placed the tips of her fingers on his mask, shushing him.

"You don't have to say anything, my lord. I know that you love me."

He grabbed her wrists and looked down at her, their eyes locking in a loving manner for what seemed like an eternity.

"I do love you... and I always will.

When he admitted that he did indeed love her, Eleena wanted to leap with joy. But then she noticed something. Something that made her joy quickly turn into concern, when for perhaps the first time in her life, and even perhaps Malgus' life, she caught tears streaking down his face. The only other time she had seen so much emotion from him had been in anger.

"What's wrong?"

With a pained and emotion filled voice, he gave his reply.

"My love for you is wrong," he said.

"Verdadun..." she said in a soft and sad tone, using his real name.

Suddenly, the familiar snap-hiss of a lightsaber sounded off as it ignited through her chest, piercing through her heart. The blade jutted out of her back, and she looked up at her lover. She felt her life force start to slip away, and she was soon overcome with darkness.

Then he deactivated the blade, and she went limp in Malgus' arms. He knelt down and continued to hold her dead body in his arms.

For too long, Malgus had let his emotions drive his actions. Darth Sidious used her to get what he wanted from him. It made him week to Sidious, in front of his men. He was not going to allow that to happen ever again.

In the face of the Republic and the possible destruction of the Empire, he couldn't afford anymore weaknesses.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Kaas City, Hyper-velocity cannon, between the outer and inner walls of the City_.

Obi-Wan trekked through the jungle for several hours. He left the speeder behind and covered it with tree branches in order to keep it away from prying eyes. Then he continued to make his way to the Sith stronghold.

When he came through the treeline, overlooking a massive ridge, he could see the city just a couple miles away. The walls were massive, and were patrolled by Sith troopers with an itchy trigger finger.

This is what happens when you're exiled for nearly a thousand years: you rebuild, and you don't take any chances.

Then, the Jedi master continued his journey.

A couple hours later, Obi-Wan made it past the outer wall, dodging Sith patrols or fooling them with a simple mind-trick. Then he eventually made it to the hyper-velocity cannon.

The hyper-velocity cannon was a fixed planetary defense weapon used against orbiting space-craft such as capital ships. It was protected by both particle and kinetic shields, whose generators were buried underground along with the gun's generator.

He walked up to the entrance, which was only guarded by two black armored Sith troopers.

They raised their guns at Obi-Wan.

"Halt, who goes there?"

"Hands where we can see them!"

Obi-Wan raised his hands when he was right in front of them. But he waved one to the side. "You will let me pass."

"We will let you pass." Both troopers said, as if they were caught in a trance, which they were. They lowered their guns, and they let Obi-Wan continue through. But then he turned back around to face them.

He waved his hand across again.

"I was never here." He said.

"You were never here," the guards repeated.

Obi-Wan smiled to himself. Another win for the negotiator. He reached for his com-link, held down a button, and then spoke into it.

"Cody, I'm inside".

He released the button to get a reply.

" _Okay General, what you're going to want to do is overload the cannons' power. Head for the generator room, and find a terminal._ "

"Copy that." Then he saw a patrol coming his way. "Be ready to attack within the next thirty minutes," Obi-Wan ordered before cutting off the transmission and hiding in crevice in the wall.

He patrol walked past him. None of them seemed to notice him. Of coarse, they didn't bother to look to the sides. They disappeared behind a door, which closed with a hiss. He was on his way after that. After avoiding another patrol, and mind-tricking a few technicians, he found his way to the cannon's power source.

He looked to his left and right, and found that the room was oddly empty. But then he saw another technician in the room. He didn't seem to notice the robed bearded man. Obi-Wan speed walked over to him.

"Excuse me, friend."

The technician turned around, and looked surprised. "who are you?" He asked as he reached for a blaster that was on his belt.

Obi-Wan quickly waved his hand in front of the man's face. "Never mind that. I need you to get on this terminal and overload the cannon for me."

The man was caught in a trance. "You need me to get on this terminal and overload this cannon for you." He then turned around, and his fingers started to dance across the terminal's keyboard.

Obi-Wan looked over his shoulder to study his work. Then he heard the hiss of a door opening. He turned around and saw an entire squad of troopers walking in.

"Jedi! Get him!"

They raised their blasters and started firing on Obi-Wan. He used the force to summon his lightsaber from his belt and activate it just in time to deflect the first blast bolt. It flew back and hit a wall. A second blast caught a trooper in the knee, causing him to drop to one knee and teeth in pain. Another trooper was caught in the face by his own blaster bolt, making him drop to the deck.

When the technician was done with the terminal, an alarm started to go off, and he ran off to the side and disappeared.

"That weak-minded fool overloaded the controls. We have to take them back and regulate the power," the lead trooper called out.

They pressed their attack, but Obi-Wan continued to expertly deflect the blaster rounds. He then summoned a force blast that sent the troopers to the ground. Then he swiftly turned around, and plunged his blade deep into the control console, before dragging across the keypad, rendering the terminal useless and the cannon doomed.

Obi-Wan then force jumped onto a cat-walk above him, and disappeared through a maintenance hatch. The cannon started to shake as explosions began to form deep inside the cannon.

"Cody!" Obi-Wan shouted into his com-link over the sound of a wailing alarm. "The cannon's out of commission. You can start you're landing!"

" _Copy that, on our way,_ " the clone commander replied.

Obi-Wan fought his way through another unit of Sith troopers and made it out of the cannon. When he was at a safe distance, he looked back to observe the damage. Bolts of energy crackled around the cannon. Then several small explosions began to dot the exterior of the cannon. Then a large explosion ripped through the building from underground, causing the cannon's barrel to be thrown into the air, along with several small structures.

Obi-Wan smiled.

Another day, another Sith tool destroyed.

* * *

 _Kaas City's outer wall_.

Two Sith troopers were standing on top of the outer wall that kept the city safe from the surrounding wildlife. They stood watch, waiting for anything usual to happen. But then one trooper looked to his companion.

"Hey?"

The other trooper turned to face his companion. "Yeah?"

"You ever wonder why we're-" the trooper started to say before he was interrupted by a whistling noise, which stopped and was abruptly followed by a loud boom, which echoed across the landscape.

"What the hell?!" One trooper exclaimed.

They both looked off to the side and saw an orange explosion blossoming from another section of the wall further down from the two troopers. Then they looked up and saw the gray overcast clouds suddenly start to glow blue. To the utter shock of the two troopers, dozens of blue blaster bolts started raining down from the cloudy sky like deadly rain. It was the last thing they saw before one of the bolts landed between them, vaporizing them and blasting apart the wall that they stood on.

* * *

 _Near the destroyed Hyper-velocity cannon_.

Obi-Wan watched as his flagship, the _RSV Vigilance_ , cut through the cloud cover, unleashing a wave of gunships and turbo-laser fire across Kaas City. Blue laser bolts rained down across the city, gutting buildings and destroying important military targets, as well as anything Sith related.

"It's the Jedi known as Kenobi!" Someone shouted behind Obi-Wan.

He turned to see a platoon of Sith troopers and war droids, had gathered near him.

"The Jedi Master?!" Another trooper asked.

"Yes, you idiot! Blast him!"

The Sith troopers charged, firing their blasters as they did. Obi-Wan deflected every round that was fired at him. He was about to rush in and meet their charge, when suddenly, a hail of blue blaster fire tagged the Sith troopers in the back, sending them all crashing into the jungle floor, all dead.

Obi-Wan looked at the Imperial corpses and then looked up to see a squadron of Clone Troopers from the 212th rappelling down from a gunship that was just hovering above the jungle floor.

The clones rushed up to him, and they saluted him before the lead clone spoke up.

"General, Commander Cody sent us. We're ready to fight when you are Sir." the Clone said.

Obi-Wan nodded. "Very good, sergeant," he said before he looked at the inner wall, which protected Kaas City itself. Then he reactivated his lightsaber. "Follow me".

The older Jedi master pointed his saber at the wall, before he started running off in that direction. The clones followed him. As they charged towards the wall, they cut through several units of Sith troopers on the way.

it was time to bring an end to the Jedi's ancient enemy.

* * *

All across the battlefield, clone forces were deploying to the surface, ripping apart the armies of the long lost Sith Empire. The cruisers held back to provide fighter, artillery, and logistical support for the troops on the ground.

The fighters raced around the skies, dogfighting with the Sith fighters above the city. Republic tanks and artillery were deployed to the surface, providing cover for the clone forces as they inched their way towards the city proper.

But they had to hurry. The Sith's fleets were preparing to drive the Republic invasion fleet away from Dromund Kaas.

* * *

 _Obi-Wan's squad, en route to the city's inner wall_.

As Obi-Wan and his men continued to fight their way to the inner wall, the Jedi master reached for his com-link, and he spoke into it as he continued deflecting lightsaber blasts.

"Commander Cody! This is General Kenobi! Do you copy?" He asked as the clones continued to fight around him, holding off a wave of counter-attacking Sith troopers.

" _Loud and clear, sir,_ " Cody said, acknowledging his General's question.

"We need to take out the Sith's leadership. I want you to scan the enemy's transmissions. Find out where the Imperials are receiving their orders and then lock onto that location. We're going to storm it," Obi-Wan said.

After a few seconds of silence - from Cody, not the battle - the commander finally responded.

" _Understood, sir. Beginning signal scan_ ," Cody said. Obi-Wan was about to put the com-link away and focus on the fight, when Cody's voice buzzed in from the device. _"Sir, we're taking fire_!"

Obi-Wan looked up at the sky and saw several Republic fighters, and a few gunships being shot down. He looked around and saw where the fire was coming from. His eyes scanned the top of the inner wall and saw several towers. Two of them were topped off with heavy dual-barreled AA cannons. He saw a door at the base of each tower, and deduced that they might lead to control centers of some kind.

Kenobi spoke back into his com-link. "I'll take care of those cannons. You concentrate on finding the enemy command center." When he cut the transmission, he looked at his men, who were still fighting off a wave of Sith troopers, which were thinning out rapidly, at the cost of two clone troopers. "Sergeant, we need to get to that wall and take out their AA towers."

"Copy that, sir," the clone sergeant said before he turned back to his men. "You heard him lads! Let's go!"

An instant later, the team bolted in the direction of the defense towers guarding the city.

As the team charged, a unit of Sith sharpshooters took aim at them from the top of the wall. Several clones went down. The rest were forced to take cover behind a fallen tree. They returned fire as best as they could, but sticking their heads out in this situation would've been suicide.

But Obi-Wan stood firm, standing out in the open, daring the snipers to take a shot at him.

They did.

But they didn't expect a Jedi to be so resilient. Every shot they fired was merely deflected back at them. Several snipers fell, and since they were so focused on Kenobi, the clones were forgotten.

Big mistake.

The clones stood up and aimed their rifles up at the red muzzle flashes at the top of the wall, and fired. The firepower they laid out was murderous. Eventually, it got the job done, as not another sniper dared to brave the fires of the Republic's deadliest weapon: A Jedi master and his loyal soldiers.

They continued forward, and were at the base of the wall in no time.

"Sergeant," Obi-Wan said. "Get you're men to the top of this wall and secure a defensive position. I'll deal with the defense towers," Obi-Wan said.

"Yes sir!" The clone said before he turned to his men. "Ascension cables!"

The clones all aimed at the top of the wall and fired, sending cables to the top, and allowing themselves to scale the wall.

As they began their ascent, Obi-Wan looked up and force jumped all the way up to the top of the wall. More specifically, the top of one of the towers. He summoned and ignited his lightsaber, slashing his way through several Sith troopers. The surprised gunner shouted in fear, before reaching for a sidearm. He squeezed off two precise shots. But Obi-Wan deflected both of them. Both hitting the trooper in the face and chest.

Obi-Wan then climbed up and pushed the dead gunner out of his seat. "I'm just going to borrow this for a moment if you don't mind," he said to the dead gunner. He took the controls and rotated the turret, aiming at the adjacent towers. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see the clones he was with fighting the Sith troopers in hand-to-hand combat for control of the wall. He wished that he could help them, but he had to focus on the task at hand. When his crosshairs were highlighting the adjacent cannon, he pressed the triggers, and sent a volley of deadly cannon fire at the cannon, demolishing it. He then located several more cannons, and repeated the process several more times.

When the last cannon in the vicinity exploded, a voice came from his com-link. It was the clone sergeant from earlier, whose men has taken the wall.

 _"The enemy cannons are disabled. But two Sith gunships are coming in. I think they know what's going on!_ "

Obi-Wan looked up and saw that the sergeant was indeed correct. The two gunships came in slowly, ready to demolish his cannon, kill his men, and retake the wall. He wasn't going to be able to turn in time.

That's when the two ships suddenly disappeared in a pair of violent explosions. That's when a Republic gunship flew out of no-where and through the pair of fireballs.

"General, we're clear! Thanks again," Cody said from Obi-Wan's com-link.

Obi-Wan smiled and waved his lightsaber in the air at Cody's gunship, which responded with a tilting of the wings. When more and more Republic ships began to pour through the gap that Obi-Wan created, going battle with the Sith, he then jumped down from the cannon and joined his troopers. They had already set up a defensive position, and were raining down a storm of blue laser fire on what looked to be an army of Sith advancing on the wall, in order to retake it from the increasingly large Republic presence.

That's when a large shield dome formed over the inner wall. More shields started activating, blocking doors, and intersections, which were all heavily guarded by Imperial forces.

A droid voice came through on the city's PA system.

" _Activating emergency defense shields. Broad-band lockdown activated. All levels secured._ "

"Ray shields. This just keeps getting better," Obi-Wan said sarcastically.

A clone ran up to Obi-Wan.

"Sir," he said, getting Obi-Wan's attention. He then activated a mp of the city. The red parts were the main shields. "The shields are blocking our reinforcements, and several of our units are trapped inside the city. The Imperials are also using them to dig in for a fight. But if we can disable them, we'll have access to the entire stronghold."

"Good, where".

The clone zoomed in on a specific part of the city with his holo-projector. "Initial scans indicate a massive power surge in this area just before the shields were activated. The power source should be somewhere here. There's a commando unit from foxtrot company in that area now. They might be able to lend a hand."

Obi-Wan nodded as he looked off in the direction of the generators.

"Good luck, sir." The clone finished.

Obi-Wan faced him. "Luck? In my experience, there's no such thing," he said before he jumped over the side of the wall, and into the city.

* * *

 _Kaas City's_ _shield generator complex_.

After several hours of trekking through the streets of Kaas City, avoiding enemy patrols and moving through deserted buildings, Obi-Wan eventually found the shield generator complex.

There was a large building, guarded by several turret positions, each surrounded by a few Sith troopers. On a regular day, if Obi-Wan entered this area, the enemy troopers would've immediately started firing on him.

But this wasn't a regular day for the Sith Empire.

It was their _last_ day. Which meant that they were fighting against the Republic military.

The Sith troopers were firing on a squadron of Republic commandoes from the Special Operations Brigade, who were infant of a building. One of the commandoes, wearing yellow marked armor, called him over.

"Over here, General!"

Obi-Wan dashed over to their position, dodging and deflecting blasters bolts as he went. When he made it to them, he slid on his knees behind their cover. "What's your name, rank, and unit, trooper?"

The commando snapped a quick salute. "Sir, Commander Gregor, Foxtrot Squad, Special Operations Brigade. Boy are we glad to see you, Sir!"

Obi-Wan looked around at the bodies and the building that the unit was using for shelter. He saw three dead commandoes, and several more inside the building that were wounded. By his count, their were only seven Commandoes left that could stand and fight, including Gregor and the two commandoes that were dealing with the wounded.

"What's your situation, Gregor?"

"That generator complex is heavily protected. It's got the entire city on lockdown. The Sith want to wait out this siege until their fleet can lift it. Commander Cody wanted us to change that. But we failed to enter the facility. We've been pinned down for a while. Half of my men are injured, and three more are dead. Any ideas, General?!"

Obi-Wan scanned the facility for a way in. Then he saw a guard tower all the way to the left of the enemy's front line, which had a blind spot, which would allow the commandoes to infiltrate the facility. But then he had a better idea.

"Commander, I want two of your men to follow me, We're going to seize that tower on the enemy's right flank. I want you and the rest of the men to stay behind and provide supporting fire," Obi-Wan said.

Gregor looked at the situation in front of him and then looked back at Obi-Wan. Then he nodded.

"Alright," he said before he looked at his squad. "Stitch, I want you and Jace to stay behind and protect the wounded. Keep them under cover. Nash, Tosser, you're going with the General. Help him get to that tower on the left".

The squamates he called out nodded. "Got it, Boss."

"The rest of you: prepare to lay out suppressing fire on my mark!" Obi-Wan said.

The commandoes got into position on the window sills, ready to fire out of the building, which had served as their mighty fortress for several hours. Two men went with Obi-Wan, and prepared to charge.

Obi-Wan and Gregor looked at each other.

The Jedi master reached for his saber and glanced at his two companions to the left of him. He looked up over cover. "NOW!" He shouted as he vaulted over cover, as his lightsaber made a snap-hiss sound as he ignited it.

The two clones followed, and the storm of laser blasts came next almost immediately.

With the Sith focusing on Obi-Wan and his two men, they left themselves exposed to Gregor and the others.

"Suppressing Firrrre!" Gregor shouted, before he and his men aimed their weapons over cover, and unleashed as big of a storm as they possibly could upon the Sith defenders. Some of the Sith turned their attention back to Gregor and the others, taking the pressure off of Obi-Wan's group.

Obi-Wan continued to deflect blaster bolts back into the Sith defenders aiming at them, keeping his two clone companions safe from the enemy. They eventually made it to the tower on the enemy's right flank, which was out of the firing arc of the other enemy positions.

The three of them took cover behind a wrecked speeder.

Obi-Wan looked up at the defense tower. "Let's take them out. Now!"

Tosser and Nash prepped their grenades. They tossed them at the exact same time, aiming for the window that the Sith gunners were using to fire out of. But they weren't close enough. The grenades bounced off of the wall, just short of the window, before falling back towards the ground.

The grenades landed a few yards away, exploding. Some debris bounced off of the commandoes helmets.

"Gawh! We have to get closer to the wall!" Nash exclaimed, frustrated.

"Try again. I'll give you a hand." Obi-Wan said.

The clones nodded and reached for another grenade each. They looked at their General, who nodded. Then they tossed their grenades again. They were about to fall short again, but Obi-Wan quickly raised his hand, and reached out with the force, focusing on the two grenades. Then he made them fly straight into the bunker's window.

Then they heard screams, which were all silenced by an explosion that ripped through the top floor of the defense tower, which crumbled and collapsed, falling over, off of the wall, before crashing and shattering on the ground below.

"Follow me!" Obi-Wan said, before he ran off to the wall, with his comrades following close behind. They didn't even have to use cables or the force. The tower made a nice ramp for the three of them.

"What now, General?" Tosser asked.

Obi-Wan looked at the enemy defenders, who were mostly still focused on Gregor's men. The rest that did notice them, were rushing towards them.

"The Jedi have breached the facility. Keep them away from the generators!" One Sith trooper called out.

"You two, clear this wall, and help your men get to the front gate. I'll take care of those generators".

The two clones nodded, and went to work, blasting at the backs of the Sith troopers on the facility's perimeter. Obi-Wan jumped off of the wall and charged straight through the enemy troopers. They blasted at him, but he merely deflected their rounds back at them, before getting up close and hacking away at them.

When he was done, he went up to the generators, which were large. They pulsated with energy as they supplied power to shields all over the city, keeping the Republic forces at bay.

Not being able to find a control panel, he decided to do it the old fashioned way. He placed his saber back on his belt, before lifting both of his hands. He closed his eyes, and reached out with the force, concentrating on the four massive generators.

For a moment, he struggled, as the generators refused to budge. Then he heard the shriek of metal, and he could feel the generators move slightly, as they protested in response to his pressure. Then he heard the generators snap, and the energy released from the damaged reactors crackled majestically. Then there was an explosion, and then sparks began to fly out of the generators. And with one final push of the force, the generators were all ripped out of their housing.

He opened his eyes and looked around. He saw Gregor's men enter the facility, before fanning out to secure it. But other than that, he didn't see anything to indicate that the shields were down.

Suddenly, a flight of Republic fighters screeched overhead, unleashing their payloads on an unseen target. Then he saw gunships flying overhead, ready to deploy their clone passengers into the streets, and start taking this city block by block.

Obi-Wan smiled as he saw the RSV Vigilance firing it's turbo lasers at several targets across the city, while unleashing another wave of fighters. Then felt his com-link start to chirp.

He answered it.

 _"General Kenobi!_ " Cody said from the com-link. " _Our forces are entering the city now, and we've located the enemy command center. We're closing in on your position now"_.

"Copy that, I'll meet you at the pick-up sight." He said before cutting off the transmission.

"It was nice running with you, General," Gregor said. "We'll hold this location. Give those Sith bastards a good kick from me and the boys".

Obi-Wan smirked. "You can count on that," he said before he heard the buzz of a gunship's engines closing in.

The door opened, to reveal Cody and his squad. He ran over to the hovering gunship and jumped into the passenger bay.

"Sir, the enemy command center is located underneath the Imperial Citadel, at the center of the city. Ghost Company is heading in that direction now."

"Good, let's go," Obi-Wan said.

The Gunship banked hard and began to fly towards the tallest structure in the city, over a battle that would soon mark the end of the greatest struggle in the history of the galaxy.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Imperial Citadel courtyard_.

"The Republic is breaking through! DON'T LET THEM INTO THE PALACE!"

Outside of the Imperial Citadel, Red and Blue laser bolts were flying back and forth. Dead Imperial Soldiers lied everywhere, and more were trying to hold their ground at the front entrance.

Despite their best efforts, they were unable to hold off the wave of clone troopers that were flooding through the courtyard.

Sith troopers had set up heavy weapons to try and hold the Republic back. They used repeating blasters, flamethrowers, and grenades. But it wasn't enough. The Clones, being led by someone wielding a blue lightsaber, advanced yard by yard.

The Sith had standing orders not to retreat under penalty of death. So they fought and died where they stood. Imperial troopers that were firing from balconies and window sills disappeared in a series of explosions that took out the face of the building.

With the way finally clear, Obi-Wan and Cody's men ran up to the front door.

Obi-Wan clenched his hands together, and used the force to summon a ball of telekinetic energy, before he extended his arms to blast the door open. "I'll go deal with Malgus," Obi-Wan said before he looked around at his men. "Cody, I want you and the men to stay out here, and secure the perimeter. What's left of the Sith fleet is here, so their reinforcements will be here soon."

"Don't worry General. We'll hold this position." Waxer said.

"Yeah. Anyone out here that wants to stop you will have to answer to us!" Boil added.

"Alright, cut the chatter. We pull this off, and we win the war. So set up that perimeter, mop up what's left, and prepare for the enemy's counterattack. Move!" Cody ordered.

"SIR, YES SIR!" All of the clones shouted in unison.

Obi-Wan smiled, and then he turned around, and took off inside the building. It was time to put an end to this final remnant of the Ancient Sith Empire.

* * *

 _Throne Room_.

The Jedi Master walked through the halls of the Imperial Citadel. Everywhere he looked, he saw a mess. Some of it was because of the battle outside. But in here, it must've been sheer chaos.

Documents and personal effects littered the floor. Imperial troopers must've, literally, rushed outside to meet the Republic onslaught. There were also bodies in some parts of the building, possibly because of Imperial political officers trying to maintain order.

For the most part, the building was deserted, as most of the troopers were outside the protect the palace. But Obi-Wan ran into the occasional Imperial patrol, dispatching them with ease.

The Elevators were disabled, so he had to take the stairs. Eventually, he found what seemed to be the level with the throne room, thanks to a cold, dark presence that Obi-Wan could feel.

He also felt pure anguish. He could only guess why that was the case, until he found a dead Twi-lek lying on the floor. He recognized her. Her profile was in Republic intelligence. She was Eleena Daru, wife of Darth Malgus.

He shook his head with distaste, before continuing forward. That's when he found a bald man, with his back to Obi-Wan, sitting on the floor.

"Darth Malgus, I presume?" Obi-Wan asked, his lightsaber at the ready.

"You must be the great Obi-Wan Kenobi. I've heard much about you. You're the first Jedi in a thousand years to defeat a Sith in battle. Impressive. I suppose it's fitting that you should be leading the Republic to take this planet. But I'm afraid that you will fail in that regard." Malgus said, not turning his head to face Obi-Wan.

"It's over, Malgus. You're Sith warriors, masters, and acolytes are almost all dead. You're fleet is burning, and you're allies are isolated. You've lost." Obi-Wan said.

"Really, Kenobi!" Malgus exclaimed, finally getting up from his meditative position in order to face Obi-Wan, showing him the extent of the damage that Ahsoka and her men inflicted upon Malgus on Alderaan. "And who won?" He asked, slowly walking towards Obi-Wan. "The Republic is internally divided, while its armies are bogged down in endless conflict. You're fellow Jedi are hated by the very citizens they have sworn to protect. Does that sound like a Victory to you, Master Kenobi? The Sith Empire will never be defeated. We have fought too hard, for too long, to be cast to the ash heap of history."

Malgus started stepping to the left, causing Obi-Wan to step right, mirroring his opponents steps as they walked in a circle around each other. He made sure to keep his lightsaber in front of his face, the blue light illuminating his face, and clashing with the orange light from the fires raging across the embattled city.

But still, Malgus didn't ignite his saber, continuing to maintain his composure as he mirrored Obi-Wan's movements.

"Does it hurt, knowing that no matter what you do, no matter how hard you fight, no matter how many lives you save, the Jedi will always be seen as a hated enemy?" Malgus asked.

"Many good people were killed in this war." Obi-Wan snapped. "You and the Sith will face justice for what you've done!"

"Justice for what we've done? What will we face justice for? For giving our people pride? Purpose? We've rebuilt this great Empire from nothing! We've conquered and worked away on empty stomachs, ravaged by disease and war! We are fighting for our rightful place as the masters of this Galaxy!"

"A lot of good it did you," Obi-Wan said sarcastically. "Look around you. You had to kill you're own wife in a desperate attempt to hold onto your slipping power. You're Empire is about to die. The Sith's time is over!"

Malgus smiled. "On the contrary, my dear, delusional Jedi Knight, our time hasn't even begun."

Obi-Wan clenched his hands around his lightsaber and prepared to strike. But before he did, he heard a lightsaber ignite behind him. He looked around and saw Malgus' apprentice charging at him with a dual-edged red lightsaber.

He held his blue blade up to block.

Their sabers locked together. That's when he saw Malgus activating his own red lightsaber in his peripheral vision. He then lunged forward to try and strike Obi-Wan in the back. But before he could, Obi-Wan disengaged from Wyyrlok's saber lock, and dashed to the center of the room. He turned to face both of his opponents, who were inching towards him, in an attempt to corner him.

The only way that Obi-Wan could survive this was by staying on the defensive. But if that was going to happen, he was going to choose his own field, and fight on his terms alone.

And that's what he did.

He led the two Sith Lords into a corridor outside of the throne room. The Two Sith Lords followed, standing tall with their lightsabers in hand.

"Why do you even bother, Kenobi? We are two, and you are no match for us both," Malgus said.

Obi-Wan merely replied, "You are mistaken".

Darth Malgus struck first, lashing out at Obi-Wan, who raised his blade to block the blow. Then Wyyrlok swung his dual-edged saber down on top of Kenobi. But the Jedi Managed to force push Malgus away in time to dodge Wyyrlok's strike, before bringing his own blade down on Wyyrlok's, keeping it in the ground. The Sith Lord snarled at Kenobi in frustration. But before Obi-Wan could take advantage of the Sith's immobility, Malgus jumped back into the fray, again bringing his blade down on Kenobi, who stepped back just in time to avoid the strike. Then he delivered a well aimed kick that pushed Malgus back by several feet.

Malgus growled when he looked back up, and saw his Apprentice trying to use his massive stature, and both ended of his sword, to try and keep Obi-Wan on the defensive, corner him, and eventually overwhelm the Jedi. But Obi-Wan was deflecting every strike with all of the speed that he could muster. Kenobi then delivered a couple swift kicks underneath Wyyrlok's defenses, to strike his unprotected knees. This caused him to stagger, before Obi-Wan swung his blade at the Sith's legs, who jumped up and back just in time to save his legs.

That's when Malgus jumped back in to strike at Obi-Wan.

It was like a deadly wrestling match, with the combatants tag teaming their lone opponent.

Of coarse, Obi-Wan wasn't having any of it. The narrow corridor gave him an advantage. He only had to deal with one opponent at a time. But his disadvantage was that he was still outnumbered. The Sith could keep this up longer than Obi-Wan would be able to. He couldn't afford a drawn out fight.

Obi-Wan expertly parried Malgus' strikes before launching a vicious counter-attack, which pushed Malgus back. And then, just like last time, Wyyrlok jumped back into the fray, striking at Obi-Wan.

But before he could bring his blade down on Obi-Wan's face, the Jedi swung his blade up as hard as he could, pushing Wyyrlok's away. The larger Sith stagger back. Then Obi-Wan spun around, delivering several strong kicks to the Sith's knees. He then collapsed to his knees and leaned over, before he groaned in frustration.

Obi-Wan stood above him, ready to plunge his blade straight through Wyyrlok's back. But before he could, he felt himself lock up. He couldn't move. That's when he saw Malgus with his peripheral vision, walking towards him. Obi-Wan groaned and struggled in a vain attempt to break free. That's when Malgus threw Obi-Wan into the wall.

The Jedi shouted in pain, and took a deep breath in, before he looked back up to see the two Sith walking back over to him.

Wyyrlok spun his blade like a propeller and swung it at Obi-Wan. The Jedi raised his blade, blocking the strike just in time. But he couldn't strike back. He was cornered.

As Wyyrlok kept him cornered, Obi-Wan could see Malgus smiling. "Keep him right where he is, apprentice," Malgus said, before lightning started to crackle and whip off of Malgus' blade. He then began to slowly walk towards him.

The situation was desperate.

Obi-Wan looked around, trying to find a way out of this situation. Then he looked down, and noticed that Wyyrlok's knees were still exposed. With all of the willpower that he could muster, Kenobi raised his foot and delivered a kick straight into his Knee. A sickening crack could be heard as the knee bent back all the way.

Wyyrlok shouted in pain. He fell onto his side. Malgus struck swiftly to finish off Obi-Wan and save his apprentice, but Obi-Wan used the force to throw Malgus into a wall, leaving Wyyrlok alone.

Obi-Wan then swiftly plunged his blade deep down into Wyyrlok's chest, impaling and cooking his heart.

Then silence was all that came out of Wyyrlok after that.

"Wyyrlok! NO!" Malgus shouted. Then he looked at Obi-Wan with nothing but pure hatred in his eyes.

"It's over, Malgus. You've lost." He declared.

The Sith Lord chuckled. Then it turned into a laugh that began increasingly maniacal and sinister. "You know what, Kenobi? You're absolutely right. Sidious took away by Empress. Dooku took away our Empire. Skywalker took away my rightful place at Sidious' side, his little togrutan brat took away my lungs, her clones took away my face, and you took away my apprentice."

Obi-Wan arched one eye brow over the other.

"You're right, Kenobi. I _have_ lost." He said before he raised his sword, and pulled his former master's sword off of his belt, igniting it. "But I have noting else to lose."

And with that, Malgus crossed his blades over his chest in an 'X' formation, before he plunged them into the ground behind him and charged at Kenobi, his blades leaving a trail of molten gashes in the floor.

Obi-Wan raised his blade to defend himself. When Malgus was right in front of him, he launched several vicious strikes against Obi-Wan, which were all expertly parried. Malgus took heavy swings at Obi-Wan with both blades.

But Obi-Wan was able to even the odds, by slashing his blade through one of Malgus' with deadly precision. The Sith Lord shouted in pain, before using his last sword to engage in a saber lock with Obi-Wan.

Each of Malgus' strokes were heavy, causing Obi-Wan to black and avoid as much as possible. He ducked, causing Malgus to swing his blade over his head instead of his neck. He then jumped back to avoid the red blade when it was swung back the other way. He then delivered a mighty kick to Obi-Wan sending him sliding through another narrow corridor, which led back into the throne room. When Obi-Wan was done sliding, he looked back up to see a red blade spinning towards him like a propeller. He jumped over it to avoid it, but before he could react to anything else, he saw Malgus raising his hands to deliver a powerful force push towards Obi-Wan, while he was still in the middle of his jump, and send him crashing through a holo-table in the middle of the room, which displayed the battle outside.

When he looked back up, he saw Malgus jumping at him while shouting a battle-cry, ready to plunge his blade down through Obi-Wan. But Kenobi jumped over Malgus, while he was in midair, and landed behind him, at the same time that Malgus landed.

The Sith Lord turned around to see Obi-Wan staring at him. A split second later, the Jedi charged. Malgus raised his sword to defend himself against Kenobi's newfound aggressiveness. The two warriors dulled until they were both on the balcony, overlooking the war-torn city.

Fires created an orange background for their duel.

When Malgus placed his sword in front of his face to defend himself, Obi-Wan crossed his own sword with him. But instead of striking with his blade, he clocked Malgus in the face with his hilt. A sickening crack of Malgus' jaw and breathing mask caused him to shout in pain, and stagger backwards, just as compressed air began to escape the damaged mask. Then Obi-Wan spun around in a circle and slashed his blade through the Sith's sword arm, and across his chest. Magus screamed again. Then, Obi-Wan spun around again. Except this time, he was loading up and preparing to deliver a powerful force push. When he finished spinning, he released the telekinetic energy blast, and sent a screaming Malgus crashing through the stone balcony, where he began to plummet down to the courtyard, to his death.

Obi-Wan looked down, just in time to see the Sith Lord hit the ground.

Then his opponent stopped moving. He could see several clone troopers at the bottom gathering around the corpse and then looking up to see what had just happened. Looking up, Obi-Wan was able to see the Republic and Sith fleets battling for control of the planet's orbit. He had no idea who was winning. But then later, he saw Sith debris falling out of orbit, before crashing into the ground like metallic meteorites. The burning debris was followed by more Republic cruisers, which began to unleash a fresh wave of Republic reinforcements.

One thing was for sure: The Sith were doomed, finally defeated by the Republic that had long rivaled them.

Or were they?

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **That was part 37 folks. Part 38 is being worked on as we speak. Keep your eyes peeled for it, and prepare to have your eyelids blown off.**

 **Anyway, until next time as always, this is Grubkiller19, signing out.**


	38. Chapter 38-Jedi Assassination

**Have no fear, Grubkiller is here.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Coruscant Holonet Broadcast_.

 _"All across the galaxy, people are reacting to the return of former Chancellor Palpatine with great fanfare and jubilation. This man, who was forcefully removed from office by the Jedi Order, has been living in exile for several weeks now. In that time, he has made several broadcasts across the galaxy from an undisclosed location, speaking about the importance of democracy, and the need to unify in the face of danger. He also sang praise for the Clone Army while they were off fighting in the Outer Rim, urging them to continue fighting for peace and justice against the cruel Sith Empire. Now, with the removal of Chancellor Dalyell, and the succession of Mas Amedda to the Chancellory, Palpatine has been issued a formal pardon. And now, here he is, leading a parade of Clone Troopers that remained loyal to him since his removal from office. For security reasons, he has chosen to project a hologram of himself instead of appear in person. We don't know yet what the Delegation of 2000, or the Jedi Council have to say about this recent revelation, or how they'll manage, but one thing is for sure: Palpatine has returned, and_ _hopefully we may mend the wounds of division that have fallen over the Republic."_

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Sheev Palpatine's hologram, traveling with a parade of Spaarti Clone Troopers to the Senate Building_.

It was a glorious day of jubilation across all of Corucant, for supporters of Palpatine. In every street across Coruscant, even some in the underworld, people crowded the streets, watching the monitors that showed the Holonet news feed, which showed the former Chancellor's triumphant return.

Red, white, and black Republic banners hung from buildings that were adjacent to the parade route, flapping in the breeze in response to the gusting wind. Confetti and streamers fell from great heights onto the Palpatine-aligned Clone Troopers, who marched in tight formations alongside their impressive military machines. Gray colored Venator-class Star Destroyers hovered above the skyscrapers, launching fireworks that exploded in the distance. Patriotic military music played in the background.

The way people were celebrating showed how big of a deal this was, that a former chancellor, who was removed, and came back against all odds.

The hologram of Sheev Palpatine, who was wearing white robes with gold trims, smiled and waved to his crowd of adoring fans.

He eventually made it to the Senate building, where a crowd of loyal senators and military leaders were there to give him a warm welcome. After giving a speech to the Republic, that welcomed Palpatine back, Mas Amedda surrender the podium, and gave it over to Palpatine.

His holographic hands gripped the podium, and he cleared his throat before speaking into the microphone.

"Citizens of the Republic. My fellow patriots. I am humbled by the fanfare with which you have shown me, since landing on this planet, which is a great symbol of Democracy. I am also deeply humbled by this great extension of generosity shown to me by my colleagues in the Senate, who refused to stop fighting for what was right. When our Democracy was under attack from without, we raised an army of brave warriors to stamp out tyranny and chaos. When our Democracy was under attack from within, by those who planted the seeds of injustice, we didn't stop fighting. And that fighting spirit was spread throughout every level of society, from the military, to the Senate, and throughout the galaxy, to the people that protested day and night to let justice reign supreme."

Palpatine was met with more cheering and clapping from his speech.

When they finally stopped, he continued.

"Many of you have probably asked yourselves: 'But sir, how will you be able to come back into the public life with the Jedi. After all... didn't they betray you?'" He asked everyone. "Yes, the Jedi did, in fact, betray me. But, despite the injustice that they have shown our Republic, I believe that we can give them another chance. But those who must face justice, will come forward to pay for their crimes".

More people clapper and cheered again. And just like last time, he had to pause for a while in order to let the cheers die down before he could finally continue.

"And I am no longer afraid to make myself heard. As of this moment, it should be those who stand in the way of progress and the people who should tremble in fear, at our collective will. And to prove my point, my dear friend and your chancellor, Mas Amedda, has a very important announcement to make."

As Palpatine's hologram stepped away from the podium, Mas Amedda took his place. He cleared his throat and spoke into the microphone.

"Ladies and Gentleman, I would like to announce that I have decided to name my Vice-chancellor. Sheev Palpatine."

The crowd nearly lost it when they heard those words come from Mas Amedda's lips. But then he raised his hand, prompting the crowd to silence themselves.

"But, I believe that the Republic needs to be placed in more capable hands than myself. So today, I would like to make an even more important announcement: I will be stepping down as Chancellor of the Republic, and giving the Job over to my successor, Sheev Palpatine."

The crowd went even more bonkers when they realized that Palpatine was Chancellor again.

As they continued to cheer and clap and scream their jubilation to the world, Palpatine allowed a smile to stretch across his face.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Jedi Temple_.

Mace Windu and several Jedi council members were watching Palpatine's speech. They watched with horror as the True Lord of the Sith was once again made Chancellor of the Republic.

What was more horrifying was how jubilant the senators and people were.

"So that's it then? The Republic is once again under the control of a Sith tyrant," said Cin Drallig, the leader of the temple guard, who was flanked by two masked guards.

"What are we going to do? With Palpatine back in power, he will surely come after us. Then there will be nothing to stop him from purging his opposition from the senate and the military." Said Shaak Ti.

As nervous chatter started to rise in the room between all of the Jedi who were present, Mace Windu raised his hand, and everyone in the room fell silent.

"These are indeed dark times. We may not be able to save the Republic. But we can ensure the survival of the order. Madam librarian," Windu said to Jocasta Nu, "I want you to start purging the Library of sensitive data. Master Drallig, I want you, your knights, and all of the security guards to start guarding al of the entry points and keys locations throughout the temple. Master Shaak Ti, I want you to prepare to evacuate as many younglings and their masters as possible."

"What about you, Master Windu?" Shaak Ti asked.

"We know that Palpatine has an entire army and fleet that is loyal to him, and him alone. But the rest of the Grand Army may be convinced to stay with us. I'll gather a few companies and move to neutralize Palpatine, before he can make a move."

"But Master... don't you remember what happened last time?" One of the councilors asked. "There was a revolution. This time there will be a civil war without end".

Everyone looked at Windu, with the same concern.

"I know. But you should all know by now, that the risks of letting the Sith remain in power, outweighs the risks of removing them from office."

Everyone nodded in understanding.

Dark times indeed.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Senatorial apartment complex, 500 Replublica_.

Mace Windu, along with a Twi'lek Jedi named Sage Kalar, and several platoons of Clone Troopers led by Commander Stone marched down the streets of Coruscant through the cover of night.

They already had the streets cleared by police captains that were sympathetic to their cause.

They eventually made it to the apartment complexes that were used by many prominent figures. The building that they were focused on was 500 Republica. The personal residency of the Sheev Palpatine.

When they made it in front of the building, the column stopped.

Windu looked up. Storm clouds gathered above the building in question in a very ominous manner.

"Commander, report," Windu said.

"Sir, police droids from the nearby precinct have blocked off several roads leading out of the district. All we have to do is surround the building itself."

"Good. Sage, I want you and Stone to set up a command post in the lobby, while the platoon leaders take their men, and surround the building." Windu ordered.

"What about you, master," the female twi'lek asked.

Windu looked back up at the building.

"I'm going to visit an old friend".

* * *

Chancellor Palpatine was sitting in his private apartment all day, preparing his speech for his re-inauguration tomorrow. But he stopped, and waited. Hesat in the dark room just as he sensed a familiar presence through the force. He turned around and face the door, just as it opened with a hiss.

He saw a man with a Purple lightsaber standing there.

"Master Windu! Why am I not surprised? I see that you haven't even bothered to arrest me." Darth Sidious asked.

In reality, Mace was one of the few Jedi that could stand up to Sidious and win. He was a little concerned.

"You're time has come, Sith scum!" Windu said with venom in his voice as he walked over to Sidious.

"Is it?" Sidious asked with a smirk.

When Mace was in the center of the room, several lightsabers ignited all around the room. Most of them were red, except for one.

This one was blue.

' _Skywalker!_ ' Mace thought to himself.

"You won't be assassinating anyone ever again, Jedi filth!" a hooded Vader said as he stepped forward. "It's over for you!"

Mace looked around at the inquisitors. He was surprised to recognize one of them as Barriss Offee, who was standing next to a Chiss female inquisitor.

"No," Mace said, in a cool voice. "This party's just getting started."

"Take him," Vader ordered.

The inquisitors all charged in at once. But then, time seemed to freeze for Mace Windu. Using his signature 'shatter-point' ability, he was able to observe the world around him, as if it were a still framed 3-D model. He could see Sidious sitting in a chair behind Vader, who was watching as the inquisitors were around Windu, frozen mid-jump as if they were floating in midair.

Then, Mace tucked his arms and legs in and allowed the power of the force to gather inside of him. Then, once he built up enough power, he swiftly extended his arms and legs, releasing the force energy in a 360 degree force push that sent every single Sith warrior flying in every direction. When they started recovered, each warrior began to strike once they got to their feet.

But this meant that they weren't fighting as a unified group. Inquisitors attacked Windu one, or rarely two, at time. This made it some much easier to fight them off. Inquisitors were flung back into the wall after just a few saber strikes.

Some were killed outright by the superior Jedi Master.

Sidious continued to watch patiently. But Vader was shaking his head at how embarrassing this image was.

The female Chiss warrior charged at Windu. She was about to strike when Windu just grabbed her wrists. She struggled to get loose, but Mace simply plunged his blade straight into her abdomen.

"Xuadia! NOOO!" Barriss shouted as she saw her lover getting skewered. With a newfound anger boiling inside of her, she charged at Windu. With one hand, he parried her strikes, while using the other to throw Xuadia's corpse in Barriss, knocking her to the ground.

When it was all over, all of the Inquisitors were down for the count. Some were dead.

"HEHEHEHEHEEHHH!" Sidious laughed. "Excellent work, Master Windu. You've managed to separate the wheat from the chaff for me." He then turned to Vader. "Lord vader, deal with the Jedi."

Vader, leaving the Grand Inquisitor to guard Palpatine, twirled his lightsaber in his hand, making sure to watch Mace's every move as he approached him.

Both duelists circled one another, before they both struck at the same time. They crossed their blades in a saber lock. They stared each other down, daring each other to make a move.

Vader pushed against Windu, making him lean back. Then Windu pushed back so that it looked like they were evenly matched. Both combatants knew that what happened next was going to be nothing less than a fight to the death.

Both combatants broke off to circle one another. After a few long seconds of staring at each other, Anakin used his aggressive Form V fighting style to start the attack, aiming for Master Windu's head.

But Mace responds with Vaapad, a variation of Form VII that Mace invented himself. It was an aggressive fighting style that allowed mace to channel the dark-side, while still remaining in the light.

Vader began to clash against Mace's saber, the two of them engulfing in a battle more aggressive and fast then either of them have seen before. Blow after parry after blow, the two of them looked like streaks of blue and purple light, moving through the Chancellor's apartment as if floating through air, knocking over vases and paintings, and slashing through walls. Their surroundings were only a playground for their duel.

"You can't take him! I need him," Vader said with venom dripping from his lips, as he and Mace broke apart to stare each other down.

"I never should've trusted you, boy. I knew you were corrupt from the beginning. Know, it's time for you to meet your destiny, chosen one," Mace said in a mocking tone.

Windu quickly spins his lightsaber around, too fast for Vader to see. Mace is moving faster than Vader ever knew that he could. He quickly jumped back, trying to avoid the strikes, and is grazed in the shoulder pad, his skin stinging from the burn that it just endured. But Anakin didn't stop to dwell on the pain, for he knew that if he stopped for even a millisecond, he would be dead, his master would follow, and Padme who succumb to Anakin's nightmares.

He wouldn't allow it to happen.

Mace continued to spin around, like a tornado of lightsaber energy. He was clearly the most gifted fighter Anakin had ever crossed blades with. Faster then Dooku, more powerful than Obi-Wan.

The two broke off at the exact same time, and they began to square off in the middle of the apartment.

"Palpatine is manipulating you, Skywalker. He's controlling your mind. Stop this foolishness. Don't make me do this." Mace warned. "Remember Obi-Wan, and Qui-Gon".

Something that Mace said caused him to freeze, before he thought back to memories of when the two Jedi took in off of Tatooine, and brought him into his life as a Jedi. He thought about how they rescued him from slavery. How Qui-Gon taught him about midi-clorians. How he and Obi-Wan stood side by side for over a decade, and went through thick and thin.

But then Mace's words pulled Anakin back into reality.

"Remember what the Jedi have fought to-" Mace began.

"The Jedi..." Anakin interrupted. "...protect nothing but their own self interests. They abuse their power, overthrowing anyone who doesn't fall in line with your beliefs and interests. They place their own status quo over the will of the Senate. Is that the way of the Jedi? Or is that the way of the corrupt council? You've all held me back this entire time, with your narrow-minded view of the force. I could've surpassed everyone's power, if you decided to train me with every aspect of the force, not just your own!"

Mace was taken aback by what Anakin said. Then he looked passed his shoulder to see Darth Sidious continue to sit there, a wide smirk spread across his face.

"You want to know more about the force, Skywalker? Fine!" Mace said, before he made the ceiling damaged, dropping clouds of dust from above, creating a purple cloud of dust that obscured everyone's vision. "Study closely".

Anakin jumped into the purple fog, only to have all of his limbs lock up, before he was thrown into a wall on the other side of the room. Sidious leaned forward in his seat as his apprentice was thrown into a wall, and looked back at the purple dust cloud, just in time to see Mace Windu emerge. He fired a bolt of Sith energy at the Jedi, who used his lightsaber to block the lightning, before swiping with his lightsaber, and sending the energy back at Sidious, who fell back out of his chair. He scooted back to the window.

Mace continued to advance, looking down on the deformed old man. "Your reign of evil ends now!"

But before Mace could strike the Dark Lord down, Vader jumped back into the fight and plunged his blade through Windu's side. He looked down, to see Vader's blue blade through his side, and could feel the blade cooking his organs. When Vader pulled the blade out of his opponent's side, Windu stumbled to his knees in front of a smirking Palpatine.

The Dark Lord then stood up and used the force to lift Windu with the force, before sending a coarse of electricity through the Jedi Master, who could barely scream in pain, before being thrown through the window, and began to plummet to the streets below.

Vader stood next to Sidious, and they both looked at the streets below. Then The Dark Lord of the Sith broke the silence.

"Good riddance."

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **That's chapter 38 folks. Hope that you enjoyed.**

 **Part 39'll be right around the corner.**

 **Until next time as always, this is Grubkiller, over an out.**


	39. Chapter 39-Knightfall

**Have no fear, Grubkiller is here.**

 **Here's part 39 of 'FotR'**

 **Hope that you enjoy.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _500 Republica, Chancellor Palpatine's private residency_.

In the Chancellor's apartment, high above the streets of Coruscant, and high above the corpses of the clone troopers that came to this building with Mace Windu, Sidious and Vader were discussing their next moves, as the Inquisitors, and a Spaarti-Clone Stormtrooper commander looked on.

"You will all rendezvous with the Grand Inquisitor in the works. We will address your... embarrassing failure at a later date." Sidious said, prompting the Sith warriors to take a walk of shame out of the apartment.

"And commander," Vader said. "Make sure that none of Windu's colleagues have survived to warn the Jedi."

When the Spaarti-clones and Inquisitors left the room, Palpatine and his apprentice went straight down to business.

"Because Windu came here with another Jedi and a company of clones, who had help from the local authorities, I believe the Jedi must have knowledge of this plot, and they have loyalists. When the Jedi learn what has transpired here, they will kill us, along with all in the Government who are sympathetic to our cause".

"I agree. Once the Jedi have total control over the military again, their next move will be against the Senate.

"Every single Jedi, including your friend Obi-Wan Kenobi, is now an enemy of the Republic. You understand that now, don't you?

"I understand, Master". Vader nodded.

Palatine walked over to the shattered window in his office.

"We must move quickly. The Jedi are relentless; if they are not all destroyed, it will be civil war without end. First, I want you to go to the Jedi Temple. We will catch them off balance. Do what must be done, Lord Vader. Do not hesitate. Show no mercy. Only then will you be strong enough with the dark side to save Padme.

"What about the other Jedi spread across the galaxy, fighting in the Outer Rim?"

Palpatine sat back down in his chair, and turned around to look at his young apprentice.

"Their betrayal will be dealt with. After you have killed all the Jedi in the Temple, go to the Mustafar system. Wipe out Viceroy Gunray and the other Separatist leaders. Once more, the Sith will rule the galaxy, and we shall have peace." He said before a sinister smile spread across his face.

* * *

 _Jedi Temple_.

On this beautiful Coruscant night, sky-cars and speeders continued to fly back and forth in the invisible sky-lanes love the city.

But there was something out of the ordinary. Half a dozen Venator-class Star-Destroyers, painted all dark grey, were hovering on the edge of the temple's airspace. Down below, on the steps of the Jedi Temple, the same steps that Ahsoka walked down a year earlier, Darth Vader, and a legion of Spaarti-Clone troopers, who had the same markings as the 501st, were marching up to the Temple.

Aside from the humming of the cruiser's engines, and beeping of horns, the only sounds that could be heard were from the rhythmic sounds that the clone's boots made when they marched.

Vader was at the head of the column, wearing his leather tunic, and donned in a black cloak.

They all knew what was about to happen, what they were about to do.

Did we have any doubts? Any private, traitorous thoughts? Perhaps, but no one said a word. Not on the flight across Coruscant, not when Order Sixty-Six came down, and not when they marched into the Jedi Temple, and started slaughtering Jedi.

Not a word.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Secret encrypted transmission_.

 _From: Admiral Tarkin, Chief of Republic Naval Operations._

 _To: All Clone Commanders fighting in the Outer Rim._

 _"Soldiers of the Galactic Republic. The time has come. Execute Order 66"._

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Kaas City, former-Imperial Capital_.

Back on Dromund Kaas, with the loss of Darth Malgus' guiding hand, the remnants of the Sith Empire were falling apart. The Imperial Armada was wiped out due to pour leadership. Imperial troopers were constantly losing ground and manpower. Some were even deserting altogether, and ditching their armor to hide out with the civilian populace.

And all of the Sith acolytes were dead.

The last remnants of the once proud Sith Empire was reduced to cowering citizens, panicking soldiers, and directionless war droids.

But the Republic still had its hands full. Republic warships had to deal with suicide fighters, and troopers from the 212th still had to fight street by street in the urban combat, hoping to route out the very fanatical troopers who refused to give, opting to fight to the end.

High above the carnage, Obi-Wan was fighting a grappling droid. It was basically an upgraded Super Battle Droid, with energy blades for arms, which could deflect lightsaber blows. They were developed by the Separatists, and used scarcely by the Sith, who needed every soldier they could get.

Obi-Wan Kenobi slashed his lightsaber back and forth across the droid's arms, pushing it back with each swing. He eventually combined the force with a saber swing, which pushed the droid off of the edge of the building, where it plummeted to the streets below.

The Jedi master nodded his head approvingly, before he turned around to walk back into the building. That's when he head the familiar buzzing sound of an approaching gunship.

He turned around and saw that the doors were opened, revealing a squad of clone troopers, who were presumably here to land.

"You're too late to help me here, troopers. Head over to the next skyscraper." He said.

One of the troopers shook his head. "I'm sorry, sir. We're no longer required to follow your orders."

Obi-Wan was taken aback. "What did you say, soldier?" He then got his answer in the form of the gunship rotating. Then he turned back to run away, just as the ship unleashed a storm of laser fire. He managed to avoid most of them, but then an explosion knocked Obi-Wan to his feet. He struggled to get back up. When he looked, he saw another squad of clone troopers storming the rooftop.

When they saw him, they opened fire.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Mygeeto_.

The snowstorm is raging hard on the crystal world of Mygeeto, casting everything in the distance in a gray and white fog.

A battle rages on in one f the ruined cities.

Clone troopers from the galactic marines battle the droid armies across a long bridge.

Ki-Adi-Mundi uses his light saber to deflect enemy fire. Clone commander Bacara exits a Gunship near the entrance to the city. He rallies his marines to attack the city, but then gets a message on his comlink. He stops and moves to one side as a hologram of Admiral Tarkin appears on the comlink in the palm of his hand. He moves further into the shadows.

 _"CC-1138 . . ."_

"Yes, sir."

 _"Execute Order Sixty-Six."_ Tarkin said.

"It will be done, sir."

Tarkin's hologram fades, and the clone commander snaps the comlink closed and looks to the main plaza of the city, where Ki-Adi-Mundi is leading the charge. The clones stop. Ki-Adi-Mundi turns around and is blasted by clone fire. He's killed before he can defend himself.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Republic Star-Destroyer, above Mon Calamari's oceans_.

Jedi Master Kit Fisto was standing at the edge of the hanger bay doors on the underside of the Republic flagship, which was hovering over the ocean. They were about to begin their assault on the separatist forces under water.

An entire battalion of scuba clones stood at attention behind him.

"All troops, battle stations!"

But they didn't obey.

They all looked at him as if they were entranced. As he turned back to look at them, he saw that they were aiming their weapons at him. Before he could turn and raise his blade to defend himself, a series of blue muzzle flashes sent dozens of searing hot plasma bolts straight through his torso. He stumbled backwards, and fell dozens of feet to the ocean below, where his corpse was lost to the tides.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Felucia_.

A column of Republic walkers marched across the forest floor, their metal legs clanging with every step. The strange calls of the alien forest creatures of Felucia suddenly stop. The Jedi Aayla Secura and her clone troopers are marching toward a company of Spider tanks. The Four legged droid tanks are already being engaged by another Jedi, a female Mirilian, and a company of clone speeders

"Steady. . . . steady . . . Wait for my signal," Aayla said, ordering her men to get ready to strike.

But instead, they all began to look around for 'other' signs of the enemy. Clone Commander Bly moves up behind the Jedi.

"Bly, do you think they're Droids?" She asked as she began to scan the trees on the side of their path, afraid of ambushing droids that might have been waiting for them.

"No." Bly said just before he blasted her in the back. The other clones fire on her as she hits the ground, making sure to put her down.

Further up the path, the Mirilian knight is hacking away at droids, while her men middle down the tanks. But behind them, they don't realize that the Republic tanks that were meant to reinforce them were taking aim. They fired, and soon the Jedi, her men, and the entire droid company, were all wiped out in the ensuing artillery barrage.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Botajef_.

"The Republic is breaking through! Fall Back!"

Droids started to run ff in all directions, as a column of Republic tanks smashed its way through the walls of a Separatist military base. Chunks of debris flew everywhere, and Clones began to pour into the base, blasting anything that got in their way.

Bo-Katan's super commandoes flew over the base, blasting apart several turret emplacements.

Two Jedi, Belth Allusis and Ahsoka Tano, were at the head of the column, jumping and hacking their way across the base grounds, leaving a trail of dead droids in their wake. Rex and his men continued to spread out, blasting the remaining droids, and securing the base.

As the last droids were being taken care of, Ahsoka was attacking the droid's mobile command post. She jumped in and slashed the only droid that was standing in half. She then began to slash at the remaining droids, who were all cut down in their chairs.

She stood at the main command console and tapped a few keys. She then spoke into her com-link. "Kryze. The base has been secured. We can begin our mop up operations now."

" _Roger that Tano. Strike from the skies, comrades_!" She called out to her men with the com-link still on.

" _For Mandalore!_ " Ahsoka heard one warrior call out.

She turned the com-link off and continued to tap the keypad, looking through the Separatist logs. When she looked up, she could see Lieutenant Appo speaking to someone on his com-link.

Rex was on one of the walls, speaking to the same person, too.

She couldn't tell who it was, so she just .

She went back to scrolling through the databanks. That's when she heard the sounds of blaster fire. She looked up and saw Appo and a squad of clones standing over the collapsing body of Master Allusis.

Ahsoka shot up from her chair. "Appo, what just happened!?"

They all looked up and just stared at her.

She frowned. "Answer me, trooper!"

They didn't answer with words. Instead, they answered by raising their weapons and firing on her. Though she was shocked by what just happened, she immediately summoned her lightsabers, jumped onto the terminal, and started wilding swinging her lightsaber, deflecting every bolts that came her way. A couple clones were taken down by their own blaster fire. Changing strategy, Appo and his men spread out and started firing on her from several directions.

Then she noticed that more and more clones were advancing on her, not even trying to stop Appo's men

"Stand Down! That's an order!" She shouted.

But she didn't get through to them. They kept advancing and firing. That's when a burning pain grazed the back of Ahsoka's right shoulder blade. She fell off of the terminal, and onto the floor of the mobile droid CP. She cried out in pain. That's when she saw looked up to her left and saw that the trooper who shot her was Tup.

The trooper with the tear drop painted under his visor advanced up the ramp and aimed his rifle at her.

Her eyes bugged out of her skull in shock. When he fired, she swung her yellow shoto and deflected the shot right back at Tup. It grazed the right side of his helmet and he screamed in pain. He fell to his knees and started holding the right side of his head, where he was hit.

That's when another clone, Kix, ran up and tackled Tup to the ground. Then she looked behind them and saw Rex, Jesse, Hardcase, Dogma, and Echo advancing and firing. Several other clones were around them, doing the same.

Ahsoka's eyes started to well up. She was crying tears of joy, knowing that some of her men were still with her. But then she saw that Boomer was under fire from his own squad. Kano, and one of his men, were in the same predicament. Coric and Vill and their squads were fighting Lieutenant Bow's platoon for control of the base's upper levels.

She couldn't tell who was on who's side at that point, as clones started cutting each other down in a base they just took.

But through the noise of battle, she could hear someone calling out to her. "Get out of here, Commander! We'll hold them off!"

She couldn't tell who said it. Probably Rex. But it didn't matter. As much as she wanted to stay and fight, and not leave her loyal men behind, she had no other choice. She had to run. Run fast, and run far. Clutching her burning shoulder, she ran as fast as he legs could carry her, and she didn't look back.

She just ran.

Ahsoka Tano was, once again, on the run from her own men.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Kashyyyk_.

Yoda drops his gimer stick, clutches his chest, and rests against a wall after feeling suddenly feint.

* * *

The battle of Kashyyyk appears to be over down on the beaches below. Wookies stack destroyed Droids while Clones assess the damage to their equipment. Luminara Unduili, talks with a squad of clone troopers, standing in a circle around her. Suddenly they reveal their hidden pistols and blast her before she can react.

* * *

On the other side of the forest, Jedi General Quinlan Vos is riding on top of a Juggernaught tank. The main cannon of a second tank slowly swings around to point right at him and a couple of clones, who are looking out over the forest floor beneath them, unaware of what is about to happen.

The cannon of the second tank fires, and Master Vos and his men disappear in a huge explosion that wipes out half of the tank.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
**

 _Cato Neimoidia_.

In the skies above Cato Neimoidia, Plo Koon is leading a squadron of ARC-170 star-fighters, patrolling the skies for any signs of Separatist activity. As they flew through the cloudy skies, above the iconic bridge cities, one of the pilots was watching a hologram of Admiral Tarkin.

"Execute Order Sixty-Six". The holographic admiral ordered.

"It will be done, My Lord." The pilot responded.

Plo Koon flies his ship towards a landing pad, where he planned on meeting with Commander Wolffe and the wolfpack.

"There they are. Land on the nearest platform."

But instead of complying with his order, they drop back and start blasting away at him from behind. Blue laser bolts fly past him, a couple of them grazing his wing and his droid.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Plo asked into the comm, as he started to take evasive maneuvers. But the pilot didn't respond. They just kept firing on him.

* * *

Commander Wolffe and his men could see the whole thing from the landing pad.

"What the hell's going on up there?!" Sinker exclaimed.

"What are they shooting at?" Comet asked.

Then it hit them.

"They're trying to kill the General. We've gotta save him. Blow them out of the sky!"

As soon as Wolffe gave the order, every trooper and anti-air battery cut loose with a barrage that was aimed at the rogue pilots that were chasing Plo Koon. One ship was vaporized. Another caught smoke and spun out of control.

But two ships continued to chase Plo Koon's ship. Another bolt hit Koon's ship, causing him to trail more smoke. It all seemed like it was over, when another pair of fighters flew towards Plo in the opposite direction of the pursuing fighters, and opened fire. But instead of aiming for Plo, they managed to shoot down the rogue pilots.

* * *

When it was all over, Plo turned back towards the pad, trailing even more smoke.

" _You're all clear, General. You're cleared for landing."_ Another pilot said.

"Thank you, Warthog."

As Plo neared the pad, the ship began to lose altitude. When he realized that he wasn't going to be able to land, he popped the hatch and jumped out of the cockpit, and landed on the pad, right next to Commander Wolffe.

"Are you alright, General?" Wolffe asked.

"I'm fine." He said as he brushed his shoulder off.

"What the hell was that about!?" Comet asked.

"Order 66 must have been issued by someone," Plo Koon suggested.

"What makes you say that?" One of the other clones asked.

"Kill the enemies of the Republic!" Shouted a clone, who was charging out of a nearby barracks, leading dozens of troopers to overwhelm the landing pad.

Plo Koon ignited his lightsaber, and his loyal men readied their weapons for battle.

"Call it a hunch."

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Saleucami_.

Three Speeder Bikes race through the forests of Saleucami, traveling past a field of dead clones and droids, and flying passed dozens of burned out tanks.

A Jedi, Master Stass Allie, is in the lead.

The two clones following her drop back and blast her, causing her to speeder to fly of control. It flew into a tree and exploded, before a piece of the speeder bounced off and hit the ground, scarring off a flock of beards that were feasting on the clone corpses from the previous battle.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
**

 _Coruscant_.

Admiral Tarkin stands in the Chncellor's private office, illuminated only from a hologram projector beam from above. A small hologram of Commander Gree stands in front of him. Darth Sidious is watching from the shadows.

 _"Yes Sir,_ " the hologram said.

"The time has come. Execute Order Sixty-Six." Tarkin said coldly.

* * *

 _Kashyyyk_.

A vista of waterways, high green mesas, and giant tree cities serves as a backdrop for the fierce battle, CLONES AND WOOKIEES against TRADE FEDERATION DROID ARMIES, with treaded tank-like vehicles. CLONE COMMANDER GREE holds his comlink.

"It will be done, Admiral."

Commander Gree snaps his comlink shut.

Yoda watches from the balcony.

The battle below rages as Clones and Wookies attack droids coming across the water on Corporate Alliance snail tanks. Chewbacca and Tarfful stand on either side of the Jedi Master as he watches the battle below. Commander Gree and a scout clone trooper walk onto the balcony toward Yoda. The Jedi master continued to stand, looking over the battlefield below.

When the two clones are close enough, they reveal their weapons and fire.

But faster than the clones can reveal their weapons, Yoda ignites his lightsaber, leaps in the air, and beheads both clones. Chewbacca and Tarfful fire their weapons as more Clones enter the hut. The Wookiees call out to Yoda to follow them. Chewbacca picks Yoda up and carries him away.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Jedi Temple_.

Throughout the temple, fires raged as spaarti-clones continued to flood the temple, overwhelming the Jedi that were inside. As Cin Drallig's guardsmen, volunteer knights, and Temple Security guards tried to hold off the never-ending wave of clones, Master Shaak Ti did everything that she could to evacuate as many of the few surviving younglings as possible.

But it isn't enough, as clones continued to surround and overwhelm their Jedi prey.

But the worst atrocities are yet to come.

* * *

High up above the carnage, in the Jedi Council Chamber, a group of terrified Jedi younglings are huddled behind a corner, hiding behind the empty chairs that belonged to the Jedi Council.

That's when Darth Vader entered the room, being able to sense the fear coming from this room. That's when one youngling came out from behind his hiding place, and walked up to the figure.

"Master, there are too many of them. What are we going to do?" The little boy asked, hoping that the figure had an answer.

That's when the hooded figure looks back at them with a stern expression on his face, and the youngling was able to recognize him as the long thought deceased Chosen one, Anakin Skywalker.

That's when Skywalker ignites his lightsaber, and the young boy stepped back, a look of terror slapped on his face.

* * *

C-3PO, Padme, and several of her colleagues who were present to discuss Palpatine's sudden rise to power, look out the apartment window. They are stunned into silence, as they watched the Temple burning in the distance, causing an orange glow to light the city for miles in every direction.

That's when Padme suddenly burst into tears and fell to her knees. Lux Bonteri and Mon Mothma bent down to keep her from falling.

More than anytime in her entire life, she wanted the father of her child back in her arms immediately.

* * *

The city planet is covered in a hazy glow. A column of black smoke can be seen rising in the distance. Bail Organa's Speeder flies overhead, straight toward the smoke.

The Jedi Temple is on fire. Large plumes of smoke billow toward the sky as the senator lands his Speeder on a Jedi Temple platform. A squad of clone troopers stand guard at the entrance to the Temple. They lower their guns as Bail gets out of his Speeder and walks toward them.

"What's going on here?!" He asked as he continued walking.

"There's been a rebellion, sir. Don't worry, the situation is under control." The clone sergeant said.

Bail continued walking, thinking that their story was a joke. But before he could enter, the sergeant barred him from further entry.

"I'm sorry, sir. No one is allowed entry."

The clones point their guns at Bail and cock them.

"It's time for you to leave, sir." The sergeant finished.

Bail was intensely nervous as he froze in place. Realizing that any wrong move meant death, he began to slowly step backwards. "And so it is."

The Alderaanian viceroy/senator reluctantly heads back toward his Speeder. Suddenly, several blaster shots ring out. Bail turns just in time to see a ten-year-old Jedi padawan fighting the clones. Several more clones, who pursuing from the hanger, join in the fight, followed by a clone commander, who points at the young Jedi boy.

"Get him! Shoot him!"

Several clones start firing at the Jedi, several bolts flying past him, and towards Bail. The Senator jumps for cover behind his Speeder, starting the engines and pulling out his blaster pistol.

The young jedi deflects several bolts away from himself and back at the clones, cutting several of them down, including the commander, before he is overrun and shot.

"NO!" Bail shouted.

The Speeder takes off with Bail clinging to the side. The Clones fire at it as it disappears into the cityscape.

"Don't worry about him! Let him go!" The sergeant from earlier shouted.

The senator struggles to pull himself into the Speeder as it races along through the cityscape. Finally, he climbs in, just as the Speeder is about to hit a building. He steered it clear of the building just in time, and races away.

* * *

 _Jedi Temple, signal-communication center_.

As the fighting in the nearly deserted, and ruined, temple began to draw down, and clones continued to mop up and secure the building, a squad of clones rushed through the building. They were here to bring news to Lord Vader.

As they rushed through the room, which had mainframes that flashed blue and green, they found Darth Vader, who was tampering with the mainframe, and guarded by a pair of Elite clones.

"That will bring any surviving Jedi home... where I will be waiting for them," he said when he finished tampering with the mainframe.

He turned around, and saw the clones who had just rushed in.

"Lord Vader, a Jedi has penetrated our upper level defenses!" The clone officer informed.

Vader looked at the clone with a stern look, but wasn't focusing on him.

"Yes," he finally said, "I sense... Cin Drallig. I'll deal with him." He turned to his men. "You stay here and protect the beacon," he said before he walked off. "Guard it with your lives."

* * *

 _Jedi Temple, upper levels_.

Jedi master Cin Drallig was one of the most gifted swordsmen in the entire Jedi Order. He personally trained the temple guard, who protected the Temple valiantly, and had a student, who Vader just killed.

Now, making a final stand on the burning rooftop, Cin Drallig fought for his life against the traitor.

He managed to force push Vader to the ground after a pitched battle, and charged at him, ready to deiver the killing blow. But Vader used the force to throw his saber like a javelin, which thrust straight into Cin's exposed abdomen.

He froze and just stood there, with a blue lightsaber thrust through his belly. Vader got back up and walked up to him, using the force to summon his blade, and pull it out of Cin, who collapsed to the ground in a crumpled, lifeless heap.

Satisfied that the job was done, Vader walked to the roof and observed the Ventor-class star-destroyers hovering in the pink and orange morning sky, above the still burning temple.

"This will be a day long remembered," he said to himself. "Soon, the Jedi will be no more".

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Hot damn, that was the epic and** **terrifying** **part 39 folks.**

 **Part 40'll be right around the corner.**

 **Hope that you** **enjoyed.**

 **See you next time. Grubkiller out.**


	40. Chapter 40-Attack of the Clones

**Hey folks, Grubkiller here.**

 **Here's part 40 of my 'FotR' story.**

 **Hope that you all enjoy.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Dromund Kaas_.

Back in the burning, embattled ruins of the Sith capital, Obi-Wan Kenobi continued to defend himself from his own men. They continued to charge at him, blasting away at him from all angles that were possible.

When the last trooper entered the roof, he placed a portable shield generator in the doorway behind him and activated, creating a transparent energy barrier that replaced the demolished door.

"I'm not your enemy! Stand down!" Obi-Wan ordered.

But the clones kept firing, shouting orders to each other to surround and blast him.

Obi-Wan swung his blade to the left and right, deflecting dozens of blaster bolts away from him, but he hesitated to deflect them back into his own men at first, but soon found that he had no choice.

One by one, clones started to fall from their own gun fire.

Then he summoned a force push that knocked all of the remaining troopers to the rooftop. Then he dashed past them, to the shield gate. That's when the gunship started to get back into the fight. Just as Obi-Wan deactivated the shield gate with a keypad, he dashed through the doorway, just as the Gunship demolished the rooftop, and the troopers on it, with a volley of missiles.

Obi-Wan ran down the stairs and immediately felt dust and small amounts of plaster falling on his head. He looked up and saw that the ceiling was starting to collapse. Realizing that the roof was about to collapse on top of him, he plunged his saber into the wall and cut a hole into it. When the hole was cut, he kicked the wall, and the circle fell out of the side of the building and plunged to the streets below.

He then jumped out and fell to the streets below, jut as the spot he was in was buried with debris, and started to collapse.

On the way down, the smell of smoke entered his nostrils, and the sounds of screams, explosions, engine roars, and blaster fire filled the air. The Sith Imperial Army was on its last legs, isolated and leaderless, but they were still determined to fight to the death.

Some were even making an attempt to retake the Citadel and reestablish contact with what was left of the Sith fleet, so pockets of Sith troopers were still in the area, as was made clear as soon as Obi-Wan landed on top of a highway bridge that cut through this part of the city.

"It's the Jedi!" A Sith trooper called out. "Kill him!"

The troopers, and a pair of black painted droidekas, opened fire on Obi-Wan with everything they had.

Obi-Wan raised his blade and started to defend himself, deflecting their bolts back into them. But the destroyer's shields absorbed all of the bolts that Obi-Wan deflected. The situation was precarious, and became worse - or better - when a pair of Republic AT-RTs and a squad of clones blasted through a pile of wrecked speeders and barricades and started firing on the Sith.

The skirmish was intense, but short-lived, as the AT-RT's superior firepower cut through the droideka shields with ease, before making short work of the remaining Sith troopers.

Obi-Wan would normally be relieved and thankful of his men. But then he remembered that they were no longer his men, and he fled along the side of the highway, just as they started to fire on him. He thought that he was in the clear, when suddenly, a pair of heavily armored Clone blaze troopers hovered up to the bridge from below, and blocked his path. They raised their arm cannons and unleashed jets of flame at him. Thinking quickly, he dropped to his knees and slid underneath, fairly certain that he singed his beard.

When he got passed them, he jumped up to the balcony of a three story building, and came across a locked door. He plunged his blade through the door and started to cut it open.

When he was halfway through, the two blaze troopers from earlier followed him. They landed on the balcony and raised their flamethrower arms.

"Stand down!" He ordered in vain, before summoning a force push that sent them back.

They hit the balcony, one of them tumbling back over the side, while the other regained his balance and advanced again.

"No where to run, Jedi." The trooper said before he fired. But Obi-Wan had finished cutting, and was through the door a split second later. Then he pressed a button, and the shield activated, just as a jet of flame hit it.

"I wouldn't be so sure," he said before he took off down a corridor.

But as soon as he rounded the corner, he ran into a squad of Sith troopers and battle droids, who were taking position in the blasted open holes in the wall and the demolished window sills, exchanging fire with a squad of clones on top of a building on the other side of the street.

Obi-Wan decided that the only way forward was through the Sith troopers, and he started slashing his way through them.

* * *

On the other side of the street, the clone officer noticed the commotion on the other side, and saw that his men were no longer taking fire from the building. Then he saw that the Sith troopers were firing on a figure wielding a blue lightsaber.

Then it hit him.

He reached for his helmet comm, pressed a button, and spoke.

"I've spotted the Jedi," he said to his superior. Then he nodded when he received his next set of orders.

He then turned to the rest of his platoon, which included a trio of Heavy Clone Gunners, who were armed with rocket launchers.

"Concentrate fire on the target!" he ordered his men, including the heavy gunners, who aimed their weapons at the building on the other side. Then the clone officer pointed to the Jedi in the building. "Take him down!"

* * *

When the last Sith trooper fell to Obi-Wan's blade, a storm of blue blaster fire struck the wall behind him, and the floor around him. He raised his blade and started deflecting laser blasts.

That's when he saw a trio of missiles flying straight towards him. Thinking quickly, he used the force to dash down the hallway, and just as the missiles struck, he used the force to blast his way through a door, just as the explosions brought the entire face of the building down.

He then noticed that he was on a bridge that led to an adjacent building. Aside from the sounds of battle around him, it all felt peaceful. But he had no time to enjoy the scenery. He decided to start running, wanting to escape before he was discovered by either side.

But it was too late.

When he was halfway across the bridge, he heard the familiar - and now terrifying - hum of a gunship's engine. It appeared around the corner of a nearby building, and fired a volley of missiles that demolished a good portion of the bridge.

"This day just keeps getting better and better," Obi-Wan said to himself, as the Gunship, which he recognized as the one that first shot at him earlier, turned to face him.

It fired, unleashing a storm of laser bolts and beams, that vaporized the ground around Obi-Wan. He jumped and flipped out of the way as much as possible, trying to avoid getting hit. That's when the Jedi Master decided that it was time to go on the offensive. He took a running start and jumped off the edge of the bridge, and into the air. He then threw his lightsaber like a javelin, aiming for missile launchers above the engine section. He then landed on the hull, grabbing onto the cockpit to see the surprised pilot, who reached for his sidebar and started blasting Obi-Wan.

He dodged twice, nearly slipping off of the ship, before grabbing a safety handle. That's when he reached out with the force to summon his saber, which was jammed into the missile launcher. When it was back in his hand, the ship's side hatch opened, and a pair of clones, the ones who first betrayed him, started blasting him. He defected their shots with his saber. That's when the ship shook violently from an explosion. The clones stopped firing, and Ob-Wan looked up, to see that his lightsaber had ignited the missiles, which set off a chain reaction, which took out the engines. The ship began to spin violently, and belch smoke, before it began to lose altitude.

Not wanting to go down with the ship, Obi-Wan pulled himself up with his saber, and then launched himself onto the top of the ship. Then he ran and jumped off, landing on the other side of the damaged bridge.

When he landed on his feet, he turned around just in time to see the ship crash into the streets below. The ship exploded on impact, demolishing everyone on board.

He stopped, pitying the men who fell. His men turned on him for reasons he wasn't sure of yet, but he still felt for them. They had fought by his side for years. They were still men.

But he was still target number one for these men, which means that he had to flee the planet, and regroup with anyone that wasn't going to try and kill him on sight.

* * *

Later, Obi-Wan continued to trek through the city, avoiding Clones and Imperials alike, and eventually making his way to an apartment building. He walked through it, and entered one of the rooms, before stepping onto one of the balconies.

It was here that he saw one of the hottest spots on the entire battlefield.

Imperials on the other side were unleashing a hailstorm of fire onto the clones on this side of the street, where Obi-Wan was. A squad of Imperial troopers spotted him and started firing.

"How do I keep getting myself into these situations?" Obi-Wan asked himself as he deflected the shots back into the Imperial troopers.

Then, Obi-Wan looked down at the highway that divided the two sides of the battle. A Republic convoy was rolling down the street, blasting away at the Sith side of the street with everything they had, demolishing the buildings.

"Destroy the Jedi!" Someone said.

Obi-Wan turned around and saw a squad of Clone Troopers had entered the room from behind him. They started firing on him, and he deflected the shots with his saber.

"Well, anywhere is better than here," he said to himself before he turned around and jumped into the street below. He landed on top of the turbo-tank that was apart of the convoy. Then, he jumped off and headed into for a maintenance hatch nearby, all while avoiding Clone Troopers.

* * *

Hours later, Obi-Wan found himself moving through the city's sewer system.

It wasn't the most pleasant escape route, but it was an escape route nonetheless.

he eventually found an exit and went through it, only to find more clones on the other side.

He quickly summoned his lightsaber, activating it with snap-hiss, and getting ready to defend himself. But something was strange, about these clones: they hadn't raised their arms against him.

In fact, one of them put his hand up. "Wait a minute, General. We're on you're side."

Obi-Wan didn't know what to say, but then he recognized the leader of the clone squad. It was Commander Gregor. He relaxed his stance, but he didn't deactivate his blade. That's when another pair of clones walked up.

He recognized them immediately.

"Waxer, Boil. Am I glad to see some familiar faces," Obi-Wan said as he deactivated his saber.

"It's good to see you too, sir. We have a message for you, sir," Waxer said before he raised his comm device. It activated, and an image of Commander Cody appeared.

" _General_ ," he said with a salute.

"Cody... what in blazes is going on? Why are your men attacking me?" Obi-Wan asked, as he crossed his arms over his chest.

" _Sir, Admiral Tarkin has just issued Contingency Order 66. All Jedi have been branded as traitors, and the Clone Army has been ordered to execute them. We don't know how many Jedi have been killed, or how many survived. We just know that the order has been issued._ " Cody explained.

Obi-Wan shook his head. "Why didn't you and these men betray me?"

Cody gestured to Gregor. "Show him," he ordered.

Gregor, Waxer, Boil, and the others removed their helmets. Then they each turned their heads to show a scar on the right side of their heads.

"You removed your chips," Obi-Wan concluded.

"Yes Sir. Rex and Wolffe, and a lot of their men removed their's. So did me and a few others." Cody explained.

"Does anyone know that you did?" Obi-Wan asked.

"No sir. All chip removals were shared with the men that did. Those who didn't have no idea. But when I received Order 66, I acknowledged the order, but only my officers are carrying it out. Except Waxer and Gregor. They're the only officers that I know of to remove their chips. Which is why I had them search for you." Cody said.

Obi-Wan looked at the men around him and nodded understandingly.

"Alright. We need to rally all of the clones that are loyal to us. And then we're going back to the known galaxy to regroup with any other survivors." Obi-Wan said.

" _Sir, with all due respect, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to disagree."_ Cody said. Obi-Wan looked at the hologram, clearly taken aback by his officer's defiance. Then Cody began to explain himself. " _Sir, we don't know who else is still loyal to us. Even if we did, we don't have time to try and sort through them all without having the corrupt clones on our case. And we don't even know if the Navy is on our side. The only coarse of action that I see that's valid, is getting you off this planet, so that you, can rally any survivors, and take down the people responsible for this._ "

Obi-Wan crossed his arms over his chest, and frowned. Then he lowered his head and sighed.

"I suppose you're right. Question is, how am I supposed to get out of the system?"

The other clones smiled.

"Way ahead of you, General," Boil said.

* * *

Waxer and Boil walked through the ruined streets of Kaas City, acting like they were on patrol, while Obi-Wan slowly crept along, underneath the street. He could see Waxer and Boil through a storm drain that ran along the street they were walking on, staying out of sight.

They walked passed clones who were escorting prisoners, and eventually came up on the center of the Republic's operations in the city. A field hospital was set up for the wounded, and a fenced off area was set up for prisoners. Some were civilians who were seeking asylum. Republic gunships took off and landed around the clock.

Republic Star Destroyers hovered above the city.

Clone Trooper artillery continued to hammer away at the last pocket of Imperial resistance in the city.

Commander Cody was talking to some of his officers, who were giving their progress reports. No one knew who was loyal, or who was corrupt, so every clone in the city was forced to go along with this whole Order 66 nonsense in order to avoid suspicion.

But Cody knew who could be trusted, and endeavored to get Obi-Wan off-world as discreetly as possible.

He turned around and saw Waxer and Boil coming down the street. He walked over to them, while Obi-Wan continued to remain out of sight, hiding underneath the grate. he hugged the wall when he saw a group of clones walking past the end of the pipe that he was in. He hid behind a crevice in the wall when one of them scanned the tunnel with his helmet lamp.

"Did you find Kenobi?" Obi-Wan heard Cody ask, sounding serious, in order to keep his men from turning suspicious.

"Negative, Commander," Waxer said.

"Sir, no one could've survived for that long." Boil said.

Obi-Wan breathed a sigh of relief when the suspicious clone turned his light off and walked away.

"Order our men to continue sweeping the area Kenobi was last seen, and start loading your men on the ship." Cody ordered one of the other officers.

"Yes, sir," the clone said.

As Cody walked off, Waxer and Boil, very discreetly, each gave a thumbs up, which Obi-Wan could see when he looked up through the grate. Obi-Wan breathed yet another sigh of relief, and began to walk off, following the storm drain to theca-ordinates that Gregor gave him.

* * *

Obi-Wan makes his way out of the pipeline and onto a secret landing platform. He ran up to Darth Malgus' personal Star-fighter, which was unprotected as Cody said, and climbed into the one-man ship's open cockpit. The Starfighter takes off and disappears into the sky.

* * *

Obi-Wan flies away from the planet, using the cloaking device to sneak past the Republic ships that were blockading the planet.

When he was past the planet's moon, and the signal was secured, he activated the ship's console. He punches in several coordinates and codes. he pressed a button, creating a beeping noise, before he began to speak into the ship's comm.

"Emergency Code Nine Thirteen ... I have no contact on any frequency. Are there any Jedi out there? . . . anywhere . . ."

A burst of static is heard- and a fuzzy hologram image appears.

 _"FZZZzzzzz. . . Kenobi . . .ffzzzzz!"_ The garbled transmission said.

Obi-Wan pressed a few buttons, locking onto the signal, and trying to focus the transmission. "I've locked on. Repeat."

The fuzzy hologram image comes into focus, and it turns out to be Bail Organa.

 _"Master Kenobi?_ " Bail asked.

"Senator Organa!" Obi-Wan exclaimed, relieved. "My Clone Troops turned on me ... I need help."

" _We have just rescued Master Yoda. It appears this ambush has happened everywhere. We're sending you our coordinates_." Bail said before his hologram fizzled out.

When Obi-Wan received the coordinates, he punched in several codes and locked onto the co-ordinates. Then he jumped straight i to hyperspace, straight into the dark unknown.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Well folks, that's part 40.**

 **Part 41'll be right around the corner.**

 **By the way, I have a new story that I just released. It's called 'Rise of the New Order'. It's a Clone Wars/Star Wars crossover. Its a canon version of this story that I've been wanting to write. Go check it out if you have the time.**

 **Anyway, until next time, this is Grubkiller, over and out.**


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